The Gray Adventure Part 2
by Ten Commandments
Summary: The third adventure Part 2: Hilbert, Lucas and Hilda have gone their own ways for two years, but the real danger arrives for them when a new Plasma begins plotting world domination. The black and diamond boys disappear, leaving a new trainer Nate and his friends to stop them. Will things ever return to normal? Natex?, HilbertxElesaxSkyla, RileyxCynthia, LucasxCherylxJasmine
1. Chapter 1

**The Gray Adventure Part 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Kenshin: Ohaiyo minna-san! We're here to bring you the final adventure to the Adventure Trilogy. It will follow the adventures of new trainer Nate will answer some questions that have been left open in part 1.

Yusei: We will be using the progress made in the game and adding elements from both versions.

Manabu: I really want to use Wizard's powers.

Tenji: We asked Dark Kiva about that; as long as he wants to you can't, so just wait until more riders show up.

Manabu: And without further adieu, we bring you chapter one.

_**Journal Entry 1: Return to Unova**_

* * *

"Hilbert, wait!" calls out the stressful blond beauty Elesa as she races to an airplane. The flying tube explodes in flames before crashing; her eyes widen in shock looking upon the destroyed plane. "No...it can't be..."

Skyla, a red haired woman with a gorgeous body, watches the events unfold in shock, but calms a bit seeing a field of electricity carrying a bunch of people safely down. She falls beside her companion, and the electromagnetic field disappears. A black dragon takes off into the skies shortly afterwards, with the red haired girl saying, "I'm so glad he's okay...How did he know there was a bomb aboard?"

"I don't know...I'm just grateful for Zekrom..." In the skies the black dragon, now revealed to be Zekrom, takes off like a jet. "Hilbet, please be careful."

From the mountains, a gray haired boy watches with a sigh. "...Gotta make this the hard way huh?"

...

Hi there. Welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Professor Juniper, but everyone calls me the Pokemon Professor, like the other professors of the many regions. This world is widely inhabited by mysterious creatures called Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon for short. Pokemon have mysterious powers, come in many shapes and live in many different places; some even come from space! We humans live happily with Pokemon! Well most of us anyway. Living and working together, we complement each other. We help each other out to accomplish difficult tasks. Having Pokemon battle one another is particularly popular, and it deepens the bonds between human and Pokemon. And that is why I research Pokemon.

But as there are people who take care of Pokemon and live peacefully with them, there are also people who will use them for selfish reasons. That's why there are trainers; besides caring for Pokemon and gaining gym badges to become well certified, it is a trainer's duty to stop evil organizations whenever they can and protect the bonds that connect humans and Pokemon together. There are plenty out there who go by the name Pokemon trainer and carry Pokedexs.

The most famous are who I call the color boys; Red is a trainer from Kanto who becomes champion of his region, dubbed the Pokemon Master, while at the same time stomping on Team Rocket. Ethan, nicknamed Gold, is a trainer who battles against an organization hidden in Johto that was planning to develop Shadow Pokemon. Brendan the Ruby is a Pokemon Coordinator who joined with his friend May to end Team Magma and Aqua from resurrecting the titans Groudon and Kyogre and ruining the world. Lucas is an Aura Guardian from Sinnoh who squashes the ambitions of Team Galactic as well as Neo Team Rocket. But the greatest crisis we've ever faced was Team Plasma, who sought to separate humans and Pokemon, their antics also summoning a deadly monster with no emotions. Thanks to the efforts of trainer Hilbert and Hilda, both of who possess the powers of Zekrom and Reshiram inside of their bodies respectively, they were able to stop their leader Ghetsis.

But, two years after that the two siblings Hilbert and Hilda have disappeared, and there are rumors of another faction of Plasma rising up. Hopefully they can be stopped, for there's this boy in Aspertia City I want to join the gang. Maybe he'll be the deciding factor that will save the twins and stop this gray monster.

...

In the humble home of Aspertia City, the wind howls through the buildings. The glow of twilight pierces down upon the bustling city. Outside of a home a brown haired mother picks up her Xtransceiver. "Hello? Oh, Audrea Juniper! It's been far too long! What can I do for you?

"...A Pokedex, for Nate? Why that's great! I think a journey would be a wonderful experience!" she says in response to Audrea's answer. "...Eh? She's here already? Oh for god's sake, you never change...Okay, Bianca right? Big green hat with red glasses...got it."

Inside the woman's home, a teenager with wild hair can be seen playing a video game. "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!"

"Nate, come down!" says the woman as she looks up at the stairs.

"Coming!" Nate pauses for a moment, but ends up dying. "Damn it!"

Sighing, he heads out his room and joins his mother. "What's up mom?"

"You know Professor Juniper right?"

"Yeah, she's an old friend of yours. Why?" Nate sits down in a chair.

"Well she asked for you to do a favor her, but first...do you want a Pokemon?" Nate's eyes widen in shock.

"E-Eh?! I finally get a Pokemon partner of my own?!" He stands up from his seat with a smile.

"Do you know what a Pokedex is too?"

"Of course; it's an encyclopedia about Pokemon!"

"Perfect! Well there's a lady named Bianca with a Pokedex and Pokemon for you; just look for the big green hat." Nate rushes upstairs, leaving his mother to smile.

Nate leaps in his room and grabs a pair of shoes and a red cap. Slapping his jacket on he dashes down the steps out the door with his bag. "Remember, it's her first time here so she may be lost!"

"Thanks!" Nate heads out the door. The young boy steps out with a smile, taking in that cool autumn freeze.

"Yo, Nate!" calls out a blue haired teen not much older than him. He's accompanied by a little girl, his sister most likely. "Where ya headed now?"

"Going to get a Pokemon Hugh," he replies, shocking the two.

"Well it's about damn time!" says Hugh as he pats him on the back. "It's no fun being in a town where no one here has a Pokemon."

"When you do make sure you treat it well!" This comes from the young girl.

"I just need to find a girl named Bianca and she'll give me my Pokemon."

"Then we'll check out the highest point of Aspertia; you go home." Hugh looks down at his little sister at the end.

"Okay big brother!" She walks home.

"Think we should tell Rosa?" asks Nate while crossing his arms.

Hugh laughs and shakes his head. "Nah. That girl'll be a pain."

"Who's a pain?" A hand reaches out and pulls on Hugh's left ear; attached to it is a girl their age with wheel buns for hair. He scrambles about in pain. "Why am I the last to hear that Nate's about to finally get a Pokemon?"

"Leggo!" He manages to pull out of her grasp. "I just found out now too!"

"How come you two don't battle?"

"Because I'm better than him." Hugh scowls at Rosa, who glares right back.

"That's not fair though; your Snivy is surprisingly stronger than my Oshawott; damn type advantage..." Rosa laughs at Hugh's frustration.

"Anyway, let's go to the highest point and get a good view." Nate takes off ahead of the others. Rosa follows quickly after with Hugh not too far behind.

Eventually the three run side by side. A set of stairs can be seen just up ahead.

"We're almost there guys!" says the girl as they near the steps.

"Yosh! Once we get there you'll finally be able to receive your Pokemon!" The blue haired teen states.

The grey protagonist Nate smiles with confidence before picking up speed. "Ah!" As he runs his eyes give off a blue glow that disappears as quickly as it arrives.

The three soon reach the stairs and dash up. At the top they stop upon seeing a girl with a huge green hat on. Nate approaches and says, "Hello? Are you..."

The girl turns around, revealed to be an older Bianca. She has a pair of red glasses on though similar to Cheren's. "Ah, Nate right? It's so nice to see you!"

She approaches the boy holding a cylinder of Pokeballs. "So you're Professor Juniper's assistant?"

"Yup, and you're exactly like I expected! Anyway, I have a question." Bianca takes out a Pokedex, this one being more advanced than those of 2 years ago. "Will you help us complete the Pokedex?"

"Sure thing."

"Pokedex?" asks Rosa as she looks to Hugh.

"Good thing; your support will help Professor Juniper's research move forward." Bianca then hands him the dex before holding the cylinder before him. "Tada! As you wanted, here is the Pokemon that will be your partner!"

She presses a button on the side and smoke releases. The glass opens up, revealing three balls. "From your left to right they are the grass type Snivy, the fire type Tepig and the water type Oshawott."

"Pick Oshawott!" yells Hugh from where he hides.

"You can't go wrong with Snivy!" Rosa adds.

"I think...I'll choose this guy." Grabbing the middle ball, Nate holds up Tepig's ball. He lets the Pokemon out, and the fire pig squeals before breathing out fire. "Hey, how's it going? We're gonna be partners from now on."

Tepig tilts his head to the side. Bianca then says, "Good luck with him. I started out with Tepig too. Also, the Pokedex will scan and record any Pokemon you encounter and/or capture."

"I want one too!"

"Me too!" These are Rosa and Hugh's words as they come out of hiding.

"E-Eh?!" Bianca backs away in shock. She looks into her pack and picks up two more. "I have more, but will you be willing to help complete the Pokedex?"

"Of course!" Finding herself overwhelmed she hands them over. Rosa then says, "You can't rely on Nate to do anything either."

"Hey!"

"Alright, let's battle!" Hugh turns to Nate with his own Pokeball. "We'll have our first battle here and now; go, Oda!"

"Let's go, Takeru!" As Hugh calls out Oshawott Nate nicknames his Tepig. He then sighs when nothing happens and says, "That's you Tepig."

Takeru finally gets it and stands before the trainer, a little confused as to what to do. "Takeru, Tackle!"

"Tail whip!" Oda jumps over the tackle and smacks with its tail. "Now, Razor Shell!"

Takeru gets hit by the attack. "Ah man...what can Tepig do..."

Nate checks his Pokedex for the moves Tepig can do, and sees a fire move. "Takeru, use Ember!"

Takeru snorts embers at Oda, who only gets slightly scorched. "Now follow up with Tackle!"

"Razor Shell!" Oda charges in and slashes at the pig, knocking him out.

"Takeru!" Nate approaches his fallen Pokemon.

"Good job," says Hugh to his partner. "With Oda by my side we'll travel Unova and find something very important."

Bianca scratches her head looking at Hugh. "Well, I don't really get it but going on a journey is good."

"I'll see you guys in Route 18." Hugh heads out towards the exit. His eyes glance back at Rosa with a smile before he takes off.

"First thing's first though; we need to heal Takeru." Rosa grabs Nate and heads for the Pokemon Center.

"Ah! Uh, thanks Bianca!" Bianca waves to them as they enter the building.

After some time Tepig is healed. Nurse Joy approaches him with the ball. "Your Pokemon has been healed to full health; please come again."

"Okay, thanks." Nate takes Takeru and walks off. He glances back at Nurse Joy, who surprisingly gives him a wink.

The teen exits the center and approaches Rosa, who has a pair of shoes and two Town Map pads. "What's that for?"

"These-" Rosa hands him the shoes. "-are running shoes from your mother. You forgot them."

"Crap." Nate picks up the shoes and begins to change. "And the maps?"

"They're for you and Hugh from his sister. Let's get going; Hugh has a head start on us." Rosa takes his hand the moment he finishes tying his shoes. He looks down at her hand and finds himself blushing a bit. He manages to suppress it before they reach the Route gateway.

They pass through to the other side, where they spot Bianca waiting for them. "About time you showed up. Before I leave I wanted to show you how to capture Pokemon."

...

Sinnoh Champion Lucas waves out to a crowd of people as he walks towards a limousine. He enters, where he sees his long time girlfriend Cheryl waiting for him. The green haired girl looks to the man she loves with a smile, before scooting next to him for a hug.

"How was the challenge tournament?" asks Cheryl.

"It went really well. The trainers are lacking this time though," replies the aura guardian. Cheryl leans in and gives him a kiss. This starts a make out session between them.

The limo stops suddenly, ending their session. A frustrated Cheryl glares at the driver and shouts, "WHAT THE HELL?!"

The hood of the limo tears open, and a hand made of pure ice reaches down to grab him. "Let go!"

"LUCAS!" Cheryl pulls herself up, entering the snowstorm that has begun outside of the car. The driver has frozen solid as well.

In the air levitates an unconscious Lucas, whose body freezes over. He then drops to the ground, shocking Cheryl who holds her hands to her mouth. "No, please no!"

Lucas picks himself up, bringing a sigh of relief to the girl. He glares at the woman with flashing yellow eyes; the woman then realizes the truth once she sees the gray hair. "You!"

...

"Purrloin has been captured!" shouts Nate as he holds up a Pokeball.

"Calm down." Rosa holds up her own Pokeball, which contains Patrat. "You're still miles away from beating me."

"I know." Nate attaches his Pokeball to his new belt. "It was nice of Bianca to teach us how to catch though."

"Hello down there!" shouts a man from above. Leaping from a ledge is the red haired Alder, who lands gracefully. "It's great to meet new trainers around."

"Hey, I know you!" Nate shouts looking upon the guy. "You're the Unova Champion Alder!"

"Correction; he's the former champion," says Rosa to correct him. "Alder lost the title losing to Team Plasma's leader N who lost to Hilbert Hakumei."

"Ah, that's a familiar name." Alder walks towards them. "It's true, but Hilbert didn't want the title of champion so he gave it up. It took a while for someone to take his place however. Nowadays I travel the world seeking people who wish to move forward to their future."

"...Okay..." Nate stares at the fiery red head.

"And who are you two?"

"I'm Nate and this is Rosa. We're childhood friends who live in Aspertia City," replies the grey male protagonist.

Alder then takes a moment to look at their Pokemon, Snivy and Takeru. "Your Pokemon are looking fine, especially Snivy. But your Tepig seems to be just starting out, and you don't look as seasoned.

"But that's okay; nobody starts out at the top, not even Hilbert." Alder then gives out a hearty laugh. "Floccesy City is up ahead."

The older man leads then to the city just east of their position. The walk lasts less than an hour, and finally they reach the spot. Stopping by the center Alder says, "Remember this; Pokemon will do whatever they can for their trainer, so make sure you treat them right so they won't feel mistaken."

"Got it." Alder continues walking ahead with Rosa and Nate following after him. He continues until reaching a play field. Rosa looks to Nate and asks, "You think Hugh could be around?"

"Probably."

"Who's he?" asks Alder.

"Hugh's our friend," responds Nate.

"Blue haired guy with an Oshawott?" Rosa nods in response to his words. "I saw him training at Route 20."

"Can we put off training then? I would like to give this to him." Nate heads off to the Route, without waiting for an answer.

"Kind of impatient huh?" Alder chuckles a bit.

"Yup." She sighs and shrugs. "He's always been a bit reckless, like-" Memories of her childhood flashes through her mind, causing her to pause. "...nevermind."

Alder eyes the girl curiously.

Meanwhile Nate enters Route 20, and is suddenly approached by another trainer. "Yo! How's about a battle before the day end?"

"Um, sure why not?" Nate holds out his Pokeball and throws, sending Takeru into battle.

"Patrat, go! Use Bite!" Patrat comes out of his Pokeball and bites at the pig.

"Um, dodge and use Ember!" Takeru fires at the rat, giving it a burn status. "Now follow up with Tackle!"

Takeru charges at the rat and hits it. "Patrat!"

"Give one last Ember!" Takeru shoots flames at the rat, finishing it off. "Alright, my first win!"

"No, Patrat!" The trainer lifts up his Pokemon and runs to the center.

Nate heads through the route in search of Hugh. More battles stall the beginning trainer. Nate's search for Hugh brings him north, where he spots the Floccesy Ranch. "Well, this looks as good a place as any."

"Yo!" Nate turns to the left and spots Hugh coming up to him. The blue haired trainer says, "So you decided to come and toughen up huh?"

"Well, actually I wanted to give you this." He hands him the Town Map extra the little girl left.

"Oh thanks. We've already left out for our journey and you're helping me out." Hugh receives it and pockets the device. "She didn't have to do that though..."

"Good afternoon!" A couple of older people come by after spotting them. "We heard some battling going on around here and decided to show up."

"Who are you guys?" asks Hugh.

"I'm the owner of the ranch, and this is my wife," says the man as he grins.

The wife approaches and says, "After a battle you should heal your Pokemon, right?"

"We're okay; I was just training," says Hugh as he looks around.

"By the way, have you seen a Herdier around here? Can't seem to find him," says the owner as he looks around. "It's the first time my Herdier isn't around my wife's so I'm a little worried."

"A little? You should be taking this more seriously!" Hugh shouts in shock. "Anyway, I'll help. Let's go, Nate!" He heads into the ranch to search for the Herdier.

"That sounds bad; I better go too!" Nate follows after Hugh.

The two enter the ranch, Hugh going north while Nate goes west. "Herdier, you around? Wait, what does one look like?"

While looking he stumbles upon a blue Pokemon, a Riolu. "Huh..." He takes out his Pokedex and scans. "Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon; Riolu has the ability to sense emotions through the use of manipulating the energy of life Aura. It's said to be a Pokemon well known for being beside Aura Guardians."

"Aura Guardians?" Nate looks into the back of his mind when he remembers that word. "Where have I heard that?"

Riolu blinks as he looks at him, and Nate grips his head in pain. The boy's eyes glow blue. 'What is this?!'

The pain subsides and Nate stands up okay. "I feel...weird..."

Riolu approaches Nate and holds up a flower to him. "...Thanks. Would you like to come with me?"

The little guy nods and Nate smiles, taking out a Pokeball and tapping it on his forehead. Riolu gets captured, and doesn't bother to struggle out. "Well, looks like I got Riolu."

He continues until he reaches the far end of the southern part. "Nothing...Maybe it's up there."

Nate then dashes north to where he left Hugh. He spots the trainer with Oda, who has become Dewott, while in search of the Herdier. "Hugh, you found it yet?"

"No, not yet. It might be in trouble." Hugh crosses his arms together with seriousness.

"You should be more positive." Nate heads down the road while Hugh and Oda go another route.

He then hears a Pokemon hiding behind a set of trees. Taking out his Pokedex he scans it. "It's Herdier."

"You heard it too?" Hugh asks joining up with him.

"Yeah." Nate dashes to the other side of the trees, where he spots another person beside the dog. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Hugh goes off to alert the owner. The masked person glances at Nate. "You little pest; I'm a member of a group that strikes fear into the hearts of those who stand before it; we are Team Plasma."

Nate's eyes widen in shock. "Eh? You're Team Plasma? The group that tried to release Pokemon from everyone two years ago?"

"That's right; we were just about to liberate Pokemon from foolish humans, when those two got in the way...whatever, first I get lost chasing this thing and now some nosy kid shows up. I'm out!" He throws a smoke grenade to the ground and uses it to escape.

Nate covers his nose, coughing from the smoke. His eyes look ahead and flash blue, where he spots the faint aura outline of the runaway Plasma. 'What's going on?'

"Nate!" Hugh calls out as he and the owner join up with the grey protagonist.

"Herdier, what made you come all the way back here?!" asks the older man. Nate steps aside to let Herdier join his owner. "Well, atleast you're safe."

"How can you be so calm about this? Herdier could have been gone for good!" shouts Hugh. The teenager then heads off, leaving the ranch.

"What could have happened to him? It's like he's afraid of losing Pokemon...oh well. Thanks for your help," says the owner to Nate. "You better hurry on home or to the nearest Pokemon center; it's starting to become night."

"Kay." Nate and the owner walk back to the front, the former taking off for Flossecy City.

Elsewhere...

The beautiful Rosa leans herself back as she stretches. "One down, one to go. Let's make this quick Serpentera."

"Don't think this will go over easy. As a Gym Leader I will be a wall you will have to overcome." Staring straight at Rosa and her Servine is Gym Leader of Aspertia City Cheren. Before him is Herdier. "Just as this is your first Gym challenge, this is my first Pokémon battle as a Gym Leader! Let's make this battle a memorable one and do our best!"

"As you wish! Serpentera, Leaf Tornado!" Servine swirls its tail, summoning a hail of leaves around it and releasing them upon the dog Pokemon.

"Dodge and use Bite!" Herdier runs around the leaves and leaps at Servine.

"Slam!" Servine launches at Herdier and wraps around him, before flipping the Pokemon to the ground. "Vine Whip!"

Servine releases vines upon the dog, but Herdier bites on one of them and flips the snake to the ground as payback. Rosa glares confidently. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

...

Riley and Cynthia are busy spending time together. Riley, while reading a newspaper, spots his wife sitting before him. "Morning."

"Morning Riley." She hands him a cup of coffee, that he made in the morning. She holds up a card.

"What's this?" he asks before sipping the coffee.

"Mother and child's health card." The Aura Guardian ends up doing a spit take.

As this goes on, the black haired Unova trainer Hilbert glances down below, looking from the highest point of Mt. Coronet to the world. "This was nice; it was so worth the wait."

His Xtransceiver goes off suddenly. "Hello?"

"HILBERT!" shouts Cheryl as she appears. "Hilbert, Lucas is gone!"

"So? Lucas always goes somewhere; we've been through this before," says Hilbert as he brushes his hat of snow from earlier.

"No, that's just it; Kyurem took him!" It's now that the black protagonist realizes the seriousness of the situation. His red eyes turn to the direction of Unova. "Zekrom...it's time."

"**Then let's get him**!" Hilbert leaps off the top of the mountain, transforming into the black dragon Zekrom. Together they fly towards Unova at high speed.

* * *

Yusei: And that ends this chapter.

Manabu: Next time Nate faces off against Cheren, and meets up with Rosa.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Gray Adventure Part 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Kenshin: Okay, now we come to chapter 2. Which brings me to the question of how long it'll be.

Manabu: Obviously it'll be as long as all the other stories; 14 chapters.

Yusei: I don't know; couldn't we extend on that? Maybe 17 or 20?

_**Journal Entry 2: Vs. Cheren! The Aura User Awakens**_

* * *

Zekrom hovers over top of Nimbasa City, before reverting to Hilbert and dropping. Electromagnetism releases from his body, slowing down his descent into the surrounding forest. He walks inside the city with a sigh. "Before I look for Lucas and Kyurem, I better go find Elesa and Skyla."

The black protagonist continues walking until he spots a vendor. Purchasing a sea salt ice cream bar he chews it; at this moment his tastebuds would be kicking his tongue's butt, but he's used to it at this point.

He comes before the Ferris Wheel, smiling as memories hit him. "Ah, I remember the last time I was on that. The girls dragged me to it on our first date."

"H-Hilbert?!" Hilbert looks to his right and spots Skyla. She runs over to him and tackles the boy, gripping him into a hug. "Hilbert! It's so great to see you again finally!"

"Yeah, nice to see you-" He gets cut off when she kisses him on the lips. He returns it and they stay like this, before standing up and parting. "-too. You know, I remember Elesa saying that we should keep our part of the-"

"It's okay; I missed you so much these past months that Elesa came forward and told everyone of us." Skyla's confession shocks Black a bit before she brings him to the Ferris Wheel.

"Huh...I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore...But, I have something to tell you guys." The two enter the Ferris Wheel, despite him wanting to tell her about Lucas.

"We'll talk later; now, I want to bask in you." The Ferris Wheel takes off, going up in the dark skylight. Skyla hugs onto his arm and leans her head on his shoulder. "By the way, when did you start growing out your hair?"

"Eh?" Hilbert looks up and notices that his hair spikes are a bit larger. "Oh, I didn't notice. I might have grown it out so Kyurem wouldn't find me. Is it okay?"

"Actually, it's kind of interesting. It makes you look more rugged," says Skyla before she glides her fingers through his hair.

Hilbert smiles feeling her warmth, before placing a kiss on her forehead. His hand drifts down to her waist and pulls her closer for a mouth to mouth kiss.

...

Nate opens his eyes to daylight. The young boy rises up with a yawn before getting dressed and ready for the day. He leaves the bedroom of the PC, eats a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon and heads for Alder's place.

"Okay, time for training." Nate travels northeast of the center to where he last left Alder.

"Good morning Nate!" says the former champ to the gray protagonist. "You seem to have grown a bit."

"I don't really think so..." says the boy while scratching his head. "How about that training?"

"Well, instead of that how about you and your Pokemon give me a hand?" Alder leads Nate to his building. Inside he finds two kids awaiting.

"Oh, are we going to help train that person, sir?" asks the little girl.

"I don't know; he looks tough."

"I do?"

"Yup; he may be tough, but you can learn from losing as well." Alder places a hand on Nate's shoulder. "Remember; don't feel bad if a Pokemon loses a battle. They will do the best they can to follow their trainer's advice. Besides, I've told you to just enjoy Pokemon battles.

"Nate, please be their opponent."

"Got it." Nate holds up a Pokeball.

"My name is Seymour; I'll show you all I know from battles!" The little boy sends out Pansage.

"Is that a grass type?" Nate opens Takeru's ball and sends him out.

"Pansage, Vine Whip!" The little monkey swings vines at the fire pig.

"Use Ember!" Takeru snorts embers, scorching the vines. "Now, follow up with Tackle!"

Tepig rushes in and bashes into the monkey. "Bullet Seed!"

Takeru dodges the multitude of seeds coming at him. Flames slowly ignite around him. "A new move?"

Takeru glares at Pansage while Nate looks over the Pokedex. "Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon; Tepig loves to eat berries it self roasts, but sometimes it gets too excited and burns them to a crisp. This is a show of its inner potential as it releases fire from its nose; its Flame Charge is a useful factor." "Alright, let's try this out. Flame Charge!"

Takeru snorts out embers, before they turn into flames and surround his body. He then charges Pansage, but misses. "Too bad! Pansage, Scratch!"

Pansage comes at the pig to scratch him. "Takeru, dodge and use Ember!"

The pig jumps back and avoids the attack, moving faster than normal. He then snorts embers, which evolve into a fireball to blast Pansage. "Pansage!"

"Now follow up with Flame Charge!" Takeru charges in and bashes the forest monkey, landing a critical hit. Pansage faints, and the pig hops up happily.

"No, Pansage!" Seymour returns his Pokemon.

"I guess it's my turn next." The girl comes forward with her Pokemon, Panpour. "My name is Cassie."

"I'll make a quick switch." Nate retrieves his Pokemon and sends out his newest recruit Riolu. Everyone looks in shock at its appearance. "...What?"

"An Aura Pokemon!" says the kids while Alder looks with intrigue.

"Aura?" asks Nate looking at his Riolu. Apparently he doesn't seem to notice the implications.

"Nice catch; Riolu aren't that easy to find," says the red head Alder. 'He may be one of them afterall.'

As the battle begins Nate uses the Pokedex to look over his Pokemon. "Huh...so he can do that."

"Panpour, use Water Gun!" The water monkey fires at Riolu, who leaps in the air to dodge. A follow up hits him though.

"Damn. Ryoku, Quick Attack!" Ryoku the Riolu dashes in towards Panpour, making a quick blitzing tackle.

"Dodge and use Lick!" Panpour jumps over Ryoku slightly, before grabbing his face and licking his cheek. "Now, Scratch!"

Taken back from the attack Ryoku gets hit by the claws. "Ryoku, Counter!"

Ryoku grabs the arm and slams Panpour to the ground. "Water Gun!"

Ryoku moves his head to the left and swings Panpour in the air. "Quick Attack!"

This last attack manages a good strike upon Panpour, knocking him out. "And that's the end."

"Oh no, Panpour!" Cassie approaches her Pokemon.

"Nice going, Nate. I could tell that all the Pokemon were enjoying themselves as well!" Alder pats the teen on the back. "So how was the battle? Type advantage and all?"

"Type advantage?"

"Yeah; there are 16 Pokemon types, some with two of each. Some of those types are strong against certain other types, a few of which make a whole lot of sense. For example, Fire burns Grass, Water douses Fire, and Grass absorbs Water." Nate takes a moment to think about it, and realizes he's right; Oda always lost to Serpentera because of type advantage. Also, Takeru is a Fire type that could defeat Pansage a Grass type. "Of course type advantage is not always everything, but when a Pokemon uses a move type that matches its own, it becomes stronger."

"That's good to know, thanks." Nate retrieves Ryoku.

"Having Pokemon and meeting people you never would have met otherwise is truly one of the great things about traveling. Good luck out there!" With these words Nate heads out of the building.

The gray protagonist raises his arms up and stretches. "Now, what to do with these lessons?"

"Oh, hello young sir!" says a nicely dressed man with combed hair. "I know this is sudden but take this." He hands him a blue box. "Good day."

The man then walks off. Nate looks down at it, reading, "Medal Case from Mr. Medal."

"Ah, I almost forgot!" shouts Alder as he leaves the building. "There's a newly opened Pokemon Gym in Aspertia. If you want to move on in your Pokemon travels and maturity challenge all eight."

"Thanks." The young trainer dashes off, a blue flare rising in his eyes. He trips however on a puddle and hits his head on a fence. "OUCH!"

...

Skyla's lips and tongue slip slowly out of her husband's mouth as she opens a door, entering Elesa's abode. "Elesa! Guess who came to visit!"

The Shining Beauty exits her kitchen, saying, "Look, I don't feel like playing another one of your guessing games Sky-" before pausing upon seeing her husband. Tears begin to gather in her eyes as she slowly approaches him, before Elesa raises her arms and hugs him. "Hilbert!"

"Yes, I'm back Elesa. But before we can get reacquainted I need to tell you something." Hilbert hugs her briefly before parting from her. "Kyurem is back."

"What?" The girls widen their eyes in shock. Skyla approaches and asks, "That monster that wanted to eat you!?"

"Yeah, and he captured Lucas." They gasp. "Cheryl is on her way here to help with the search, but I just came to tell you of what's happening."

"You're going after him alone, aren't you?" Elesa asks. "You're about to risk your life again for your friends without worrying about your own life!"

"No, I won't be reckless this time. I'll stop Kyurem and save Lucas without anyone getting hurt like before." Hilbert looks to Elesa and then smiles.

...

With Alder's lessons ringing in his ears Nate sets out for the Aspertia Gym to achieve maturity, and extra strength Tylenol for his head. Along the way noon rolls in, and by the time he reaches Aspertia he spots a familiar female figure coming his way.

"Yo, Nate!" Rosa says to the boy before stepping by his side. "I just got my first badge!"

"Really?" Nate looks at the badge she shows him. "I'm about to win it myself."

"Good! Let's go!" Rosa grabs his arm and drags him to Aspertia Gym. She stops midway hearing his stomach grumble. "Oh, as soon as you eat."

"Nah, I can eat later. Let's get this over with!" Nate however gets dragged off to the Pokemon Center.

Later...

"Ah, that was delicious!" says Nate after eating a meal of spaghetti sauce and rice.

"You're gonna smell bad later aren't you?" asks Rosa after finishing her meal of a fast food burger and fries.

"You're not one to talk; don't you know allot of fast food makes people fart?" His reply causes her to blush from embarrassment.

"Don't say such things about a lady!" Rosa punches him in the throat, causing Nate to choke. "Now let's go get your badge."

Nate tries to agree, but what comes out is a raspy gasp. After handing in their plates they head to the Pokemon Gym. The Tylenol helps him a little better now. Upon entering the gym Nate realizes that it's similar to a school. "Huh. It's like they remade the old school."

"They did," says Rosa, shocking the boy. "The school now doubles as a gym."

"Oh." Nate and Rosa walk through the gym to the battlefield portion, the latter leading the former. Rosa then holds her hand out to the gym leader, the older Cheren.

Cheren looks on at Rosa, saying, "Oh, you again. Enjoying the badge you earned?"

"Yup! But for now there's someone who wants to battle you." She gestures to Nate who steps forward.

Cheren looks upon the trainer. "Hmm...well, I'm ready if you are. But before you do so you must face off against my gym trainers."

"Gym trainers?" Cheren then gestures towards two trainers coming up from behind. "Oh, them."

"I don't challenge anyone who can't handle them." Cheren steps aside as the first one, a male, approaches Nate.

"Understood."

Later...

Cheren returns to Nate, saying, "Impressive. You managed to defeat both of them."

"Of course; I'm aiming straight for the top!" shouts the beginning trainer.

"Let's begin then." Cheren leads Nate to a battlefield outside, with the sun shining down upon them. Before moving to the other side he hands Nate potions. "Use them on your Pokemon."

"Thanks." Nate takes out Takeru's Pokeball.

"This will be a two on two Pokemon gym leader battle. You can only use two specific Pokemon, and only the challenger is allowed to swap Pokemon. Let's begin." Cheren sends out Watchog.

Nate scans the Pokemon in the dex. "Watchog, the Lookout Pokemon; Using luminescent matter, it makes its eyes and body glow and stuns attacking opponents." "Huh...interesting. Alright Takeru, you ready?"

He sends out his pig Pokemon, and uses the Potion to heal his injuries. "Takeru, use Ember!"

"Confuse Ray." Watchog releases a bright light from his eyes at Takeru, despite being burnt. The pig gets blinded, suffering from the confuse status. "Low Kick!"

Watchog sweep kicks the pig to the ground. "Takeru, return!"

Nate retrieves his Pokemon and replaces with Ryoku. "Ryoku, go in with Quick Attack!"

Ryoku dashes at Watchog. "Confuse Ray."

Ryoku closes his eyes as he rushes towards Watchog, a blue light releasing from the crevices of his eyelids before he tackles the Pokemon. "Wow. How did he hit him without seeing?"

Rosa looks on with intrigue. "That was..."

"Okay, Ryoku, get in close to use Force Palm!" Ryoku, his eyes still closed, moves in closer to face Watchog.

"Low Kick!" Watchog tries to sweep him, but Ryoku jumps over and uses Force Palm face up; the attack strikes Watchog's face and sends him down to the ground, fainting.

"Watchog is unable to battle. Riolu wins," says a nearby judge.

"Wow. Riolu is really strong," says Nate as he looks upon his Pokemon. No one notices the blue flare that flashes in his eyes like lightning, except Rosa.

"That's good. You're working hard, although I guess you didn't know that Fighting type moves are strong against Normal Pokemon," Cheren says as he retrieves his Pokemon. He then sends out the next Pokemon, Herdier.

"Herdier...okay, return Ryoku!" Nate retrieves his Pokemon and replaces with Takeru. "Takeru, you doing okay?"

The pig nods to him. "Good, let's get going! Takeru, Ember!"

"Herdier, Take Down!" Herdier charges through the fire towards Takeru.

"Dodge and use Tackle!" Takeru leaps to the left and tackles Herdier's side. "Follow up with Ember!"

Takeru's follow up attack sets Herdier ablaze. The dog shakes the flames off and growls. "Herdier, Work Up."

Herdier begins to rustle about, arousing itself and raising its strength. "Work Up?"

"Take Down!" Herdier charges and strikes down Takeru.

"Takeru!" Nate watches as his Pokemon hits the ground. "Come on, you can do this!"

"Tackle!" Herdier rushes in and strikes, knocking down Takeru for the count.

"Tepig is unable to battle; Herdier wins." The beginner calls back his Pokemon and holds up Ryoku's ball.

"Takeru, sorry." Nate clutches Takeru's Pokeball tightly, eyes closed as he does before attaching the ball to his belt. "Alright, time to win this for Takeru."

He sends out Ryoku. "Herdier, Work Up."

"Ryoku, Quick Attack!" Before the normal type could increase his powers the blue dog charges in and strikes his side. Blue energy forms at Ryoku's right hand.

"Take Down!" Herdier dashes towards Ryoku.

"Counter!" Ryoku releases a blue aura from his body, which repels Herdier and sends him flying. The dog faints.

"Herdier is unable to battle. Riolu wins; the winner of this gym match is Nate of Aspertia," says the judge as he holds his hand up.

"Alright!" Nate cheers along with his tired Riolu.

Rosa smiles. "Way to go."

"There; this is what a real Pokemon battle is," says Cheren to Nate as he retrieves his Pokemon. "That battle has made me feel glad to have battled you. I'll give you this to honor your strength."

Cheren approaches Nate, holding the Basic Badge. "Wow, thanks. I guess this makes us equals, Rosa."

"No, no it doesn't." She pats him on the head, who remains flustered.

"If you want to continue gaining the other badges go to Virbank City. Gather all eight of these trainer milestones and you'll be fit and ready to battle the Elite Four," says Cheren as he adjusts his necktie.

"Did you battle the Elite Four before?" asks Rosa.

Cheren makes a smile. "Actually, I have. I went on a Pokemon journey with my friends back when I was 16. Me, Bianca, Hilda and Hilbert were involved in a crazy adventure. But I couldn't defeat the champion; I couldn't even beat my friend Hilbert, who was vastly stronger than either of them."

"Hilbert?" Rosa cups her chin. "Isn't he the one who defeated N and Team Plasma, the Black Hero?"

"The very same. I actually haven't seen him in months; that worrywart gets in all sorts of trouble. He's completely stressing out two of our gym leaders." The gym leader shrugs. "He's such a problem some times."

Rosa looks to him with a questioning look. "You're worried about him too, aren't you?"

"You can tell huh?" Cheren smiles to the girl. "If you do manage to see him tell him they're worried sick."

"Sure thing." With that the two leave the gym, heading out to the Pokemon Center. Nate looks over his badge with glee. "I wonder if they're all this shiny..."

"I'm heading over to Virbank. Wanna come?" asks the bun haired girl as she leans her elbow on his shoulder.

"I'll go too then." On the way to the center they spot Bianca coming up to them. "Ah, Bianca."

"Hello, Nate!" The blond woman approaches him and Rosa looks at her with a scowl noticing her slight blush. "How's it going?"

"I just won my first gym badge. Here." He shows the Basic Badge.

"Wow, that's amazing! And here you just set off on your journey yesterday," says Bianca as she looks towards the gym. "There's potential in you after all, like she said."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Bianca takes a moment to smile. "Still, that Cheren..."

Speak of the devil, Cheren walks out. "Oh, Bianca. You're here; how long has it been, two years?"

"Yup! I came to see Nate," says the woman before looking upon Rosa. "Oh yeah, you were with him that time too right?"

"My name is Rosa," she replies, throwing a scowl her way.

"Anyway, I'm about to register you in the Xtransceiver." Bianca holds his device and begins to add in her information. Cheren comes up and does so as well.

That's when it begins to ring. "Eh?"

"That's right; I also added Professor Juniper's as well." Nate turns on the device.

"Hi there, Nate. I'm Professor Juniper," says the lovely professor as her face appears.

"Uh, hello," Nate replies to him.

"Oh hi. I'm glad you were able to take part in the Pokedex project. I'll be seeking your progress, good luck." Juniper signs off.

"Okay then; good luck out there Nate!" Bianca pats him lightly on the back and heads out.

"Yo, Nate and Rosa!" shouts Hugh as he approaches the gym. "I'm guessing you won your gym battles."

"Actually yeah." He holds out the Basic Badge.

"Good. I'll be challenging you as well." Hugh approaches Cheren.

"Another challenger, huh? Very well." Cheren returns to the gym.

"He's looking down on me..." Hugh follows after him. "Remember guys, I'm going for the top. I won't be behind you forever Rosa."

Rosa sighs as he enters the gym, before hooking her arm around Nate. "Let's go; Virbank awaits!"

"Wait, I still have to heal my Pokemon." Rosa comically falls.

Later...

"Let's go!" Rosa says as she and Nate head north to Route 19 before crossing over to Flocessy Town. Along the way they get caught in a battle against a few trainers, including a Lass and a Youngster.

They cross over to the next route, until they spot a hiker standing in their way. "Hold it; you can't cross over until you have the Basic Badge."

The two show their badges. "What's it to you if we have it or not?"

"Because I wanted to face a fellow badge holder!" The Hiker answers to Rosa, before holding out a Pokeball.

"I got this; stand back and watch me shine." Rosa pushes Nate back and holds up her own ball. The hiker shocks them by sending out Riolu, and Rosa responds by using Magby. "Magby, Ember!"

"Riolu, Quick Attack!" Riolu dashes at Magby, who leaps in the air to avoid before shooting a fireball. Riolu takes it to the back and gets burned. "Riolu, no!"

"Give another Ember!" Magby fires again, this time causing the Pokemon to faint. "And I win!"

"Wow...Rosa is really strong..." Nate murmurs as he watches the girl retrieve her Pokemon. 'I doubt I can match her.'

The two then walk pass the fallen hiker, going down the road to where they spot a couple of other trainers battling it out. "Wanna train our Pokemon for a while?"

"Sure thing!" Nate and Rosa join in on the battles, using this time to raise the levels of their Pokemon.

...

Hilbert raises his head up as he rises from the bed. Two arms draped across his chest slide down to his waist, landing on top of his crotch. "I better get going."

"Wait." Elesa reaches her right hand around him and pulls the black protagonist down on the bed. "You still didn't give me my gift last Christmas."

"Me neither," adds Skyla as she rises up, her left hand rubbing his cheek. "There's actually something we both want from you."

"Really? What?" He looks to the two questionably, but seeing as he's been away from them for a while he should have realized it. The seductive smirks they give him confirms it. Their hands lying south of the border squeeze, causing him to yelp. The girls then throw the sheets over them.

...

Takeru gets knocked aside by a Mareep. "Takeru, Tackle!" Takeru charges back, but his body releases a large flame from his nose as he does. The surprised Nate watches as his Pokemon crashes into Mareep, defeating it. "Wow...was that a new technique?"

The trainer retrieves her Pokemon and walks off, before handing Nate Pokedollars. Rosa joins him after defeating her opponent, saying, "How's it going?"

"I'm good, a little hungry. Let's get to Virbank." Rosa nods and walks to the nearest exit. After passing through the gate they soon enter Virbank City, although it was getting dark at that moment. Nate's Xtransceiver goes off, and he turns it on. "Hello?"

"Nate? Oh hi!" says his mom as she appears.

"Mom?"

"Hi Ms. Hakumei!" Rosa shouts on his end.

"Hi Rosa. Where are you guys?"

"Virbank."

"Wow, Virbank? That's where the Pokestar Studios is!" she squeals looking at the surroundings behind them. "There's also a complex where you can train your Pokemon in."

"Really?" He looks around to search for this said complex.

"Good luck out there honey. Rosa, look after him please." His mother cuts off.

Nate's stomach begins to growl. "Well, first thing's first!" He dashes to the Pokemon Center.

"Ah, wait up!" They cross over the street bridge connecting them, where they spot a younger woman with white hair and a purple, lite blue and black striped dress. She looks up to a sea captain of sorts.

"Roxie, don't try to stop me," says the older man. "I'm off to the Pokestar Studios to fulfill my dream; I will be a ship captain AND a movie star!"

"Get real, dad!" shouts Roxie. "If that ship doesn't move you'll be causing a lot of problems for people!"

The man turns around with a scowl. "Oh dear Roxie; you split your time between your responsibilities as a gym leader and a rock star. If you can do that so can I."

"That's different!" Her father walks north, leaving her. "You...You dim-witted, dense...YOU DUMBASS! Doing double duty isn't the problem; you're just causing problems for others! Why can't you understand that keeping people from going where they need to because of your desires is the decision of an idiot?!"

The livid Roxie storms south, and the two look at one another with shock. "...Okay..." Nate's stomach rumbles again. "And now I'm starving."

"Oh, come on you big baby!" Rosa drags him into the center, where he hits his head on a door. "Sorry!"

Later...

Nate drops his half eaten sandwich on the plate with a sigh. Rosa looks up to him and asks, "What's wrong? I thought you liked spinach and mayo on turkey."

"It's not that." Nate holds onto his head. "I've been feeling these short pains in my head lately. It's distracting."

"Short pains? Like what?" asks Rosa.

"Well, it's hard to explain-gah!" Nate grabs his head again.

"Nate!" Rosa goes to his side, pausing when she sees his eyes turn blue again. "I see. It's really happening."

"What's happening? What's going on?" A burst of energy releases from his body, and Nate collapses to the ground unconscious.

Rosa goes to her knees and shakes him, her eyes growing frantic. "Nate! NATE!"

Nurse Joy comes in and helps him up, taking to poor boy to the nearest hospital. A doctor looks after him and oversees his condition. "It seems he's passed out."

"But why?!" Rosa asks him.

"We don't know; but it's possible he'll wake up tomorrow morning, now that the worse is over." The doctor then walks out of the room, leaving Rosa there with the boy.

"Nate..." Rosa looks down upon the unconscious teen, her eyes slowly becoming teary. "Nate...I better let your mother know what happened." The bun haired girl takes out her Xtransceiver, that she left in her pocket after trying to program Juniper and Bianca's numbers in, and her Pokedex falls out too.

She reaches down to pick it up, and rising up it goes off. "Scanning...Scanning..."

"Scanning? For what?" Rosa looks at the device, seeing it pointing to Nate.

"Index found; Classification, Aura." Rosa's eyes widen in shock before looking upon Nate.

"...Nate?" Rosa drops her Pokedex. "What's happened to you?"

Rosa walks over to his bedside, falling down to her knees and falling to tears.

Daylight hits hours later. Up from the bed awakens Nate, who rubs his head. "Ow, my head..."

"Nate, you're up." Rosa looks towards the boy, holding his hat to him.

"Oh, morning. What happened?" asks the brown haired boy.

"You'll be fine. Let's get to your next badge." Rosa helps Nate out of bed, but he loses his balance. Seeing this she can't help but laugh a bit, glad to see him back to normal. After signing out and going to the Pokemon Center for breakfast, the trainers search the rest of the city.

Gazing up at the skies, Nate begins to go into deep thought. "I figure I should get some training done."

"You figure?" Rosa looks at him questionably.

"Let's check out that complex."

"Okay; it's just south of our position. It's where I got Magby." Nate grabs her hand and rushes south. The young woman blushes at the feel of his hands, her heart lifting with feeling. The two coincidentally come to the Virbank Complex, the male trainer knowing this after seeing a sign.

He looks around for wild Pokemon. "I wonder if there's anyone I can face."

"You could catch some Pokemon to become stronger; Ryoku and Takeru need more partners." Rosa points to a wild Magnemite floating in the air.

Nate takes out the Pokedex. "Magnemite, the Magnet Pokemon; The electromagnetic waves emitted by the units at the sides of Magnemite's head expel anti-gravity, which allows it to float. The faster the units at its sides rotate, the greater the magnetic force they generate."

"I'll catch it. Go, Takeru!" Nate sends out his Pokemon Takeru. "Ember!" The pig releases embers, taking it off guard. The floating magnet glares at Nate before using Thundershock on Takeru. "Dodge and use Nitro Charge!"

Takeru avoids the attack and strikes the magnet. "Alright, go Great Ball!" Magnemite dodges and flies away. "Damn...I guess not all Pokemon want to join a trainer."

"I'm sure that's obvious," Rosa tells him. Suddenly, Takeru begins to glow brightly. "Ah! Takeru's evolving!"

"Whoa!" The pig rises up on two legs, turning into Pignite.

...

The diamond protagonist opens his eyes. He looks around to see himself in a sort of cave. "What the hell? Where am I?"

"Nice of you to finally wake up, Lucas," says a cold and emotionless voice. A man approaches him from the shadows of the cave, his eyes glowing bright yellow. This man is revealed to be Kyurem.

"You! Why are you back!?" Lucas immediately picks himself up and summons an Aura Sphere. "Didn't get enough last time?"

"Drop your powers. I can take you anytime I want." Kyurem holds his right hand up, forming ice around it. "You're coming with me, because I want more."

"More what?" The copy of Lucas sends a blizzard of snow at him, capturing the poor boy in complete ice. "You're mine." A wide grin appears on the grey haired boy's face.

* * *

Yusei: Allot of cliffhangers this time TCM.

Manabu: It's not that bad.

Takeshi: Next time Nate meets a new addition to his team, before he duels against Roxie.

Manabu: ...Who are you?

Takeshi: I'm your successor, Takeshi Ishihara. I'm in LalunaticScribe's Infernity Mirage and an upcoming story by DancingQueen21...which is weird because I'm supposed to be for Digimon fics.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Gray Adventure Part 2**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

... Time skip

Takeshi: And now...we come back with another chapter.

Yusei: Shouldn't you be working on the other story?

Takeshi: I can't...unless he posts it. I'm here until he finishes, which shouldn't take long.

Kenshin: And now, let's begin! *turns on projector, which burns out the film* AH NO!

Julia: I got it. *inserts vhs*

Yusei: How old.

**Journal Entry 3: The Big Screen and The Duel Scene**

* * *

Kyurem glares at the frozen body of Lucas, placing a hand on top of his head. "I'm taking you now."

"Look, just because you've had it rough doesn't mean I can just let you take me," Lucas tells the ice dragon.

"You don't understand just how rough it is! Do you know what it's like to be as empty as a void? To constantly be emotionless and cold as ice?"

"I WAS FROZEN TODAY!" Kyurem laughs, a cold, emotionless one, and transforms into his Pokemon form. He opens his mouth and grows.

...

"Pignite the Fire Pig Pokemon; The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power and speed." The Pokedex's reading fills Nate with even more intrigue.

"Well, you've experienced your first evolution," says Rosa as she pinches Pignite's cheeks. "But, you're still behind both of us."

"No I'm not!" Nate shouts before retrieving his Pokemon. "Let's keep training."

"Hey there a sec!" A man calls out to them. "It looks like you've got energetic Pokemon with ya. Can I ask a favor?"

"Uh, sure. What's up?" asks Nate before turning to him.

"Some of the workers here are slacking. I need you to battle them and light a fire under their butts."

"Got it. I can use this as training." Nate gives him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, that's what I like to hear!" The man then walks off, leaving the two alone.

"So, ready to get some training in?" Nate turns to Rosa with a grin.

"Mm." Rosa nods and together they head off into the complex. Along the way an Elekid pops up before them. "Ah, Elekid."

"That's...what type is that?" Nate looks at the little Pokemon.

"Elekid, an electric type, and the next addition to my team!" Rosa holds out a Pokeball. "Go, Growlithe!" Rosa sends out the fire dog Growlithe.

"Eh?" Elekid uses Thundershock on the dog while Nate looks at it in surprise.

"Flame Wheel!" Growlithe charges in at the Pokemon and strikes, giving it a burn status. "Go, Pokeball!"

Her Pokeball strikes the Electric type and captures it. The red light beeps a couple of times before it seals. "Yes!" Rosa picks up her ball and holds it in the air.

"I could probably use a new member." Nate looks at his belt at the only two he has.

"I'm going this way to face the crew. You go over there and we'll meet back in less than an hour." On her command they split up.

A while of searching brings them to two workers. Not much time goes by for the young trainers to win their battles and regroup at the entrance.

Nate meanwhile has a sidetrack, seeing a man standing by a spherical gas holder. With the clothes he has he looks to be a scientist. "Thsoe gas holders are sure an expression of harmony...There's a reason for those shapes. A sphere is best for withstanding the tremendous pressure inside...it'd be nice if they drew a Pokemon on these gas holders too..." He looks to the left and spots Nate. "Oh, were you listening?"

"Uh, yeah. It was just interesting," says the gray protagonist.

"Well, it looks as if I share an interest with someone else, someone who understands my breathtaking knowledge." The man pats him on the shoulders. "Thank you for listening, my complex buddy! Take this and have a good day!"

Handing over a Premier Ball, the scientist walks away, leaving him behind to glance at the holders. "It would be nice to add Pokemon on there."

Nate returns to the entrance, where he finds

Virbank Gym...

Nate and Rosa hold their ears upon entering the gym. Roxie and her band are playing music. "Hello! Can you turn it down?!"

"LISTEN DAMN IT!" Rosa screams, but to no avail.

"Boku no namae wa Hayabusa-kun(Hayabusa!) Hayai kedo busaku wa nai ze(Busaku wa!)" This continues as they sing, Roxie showing off some impressive moves in addition to her voice.

The song repeats as everyone continues dancing. Nate approaches the DJ, and asks, "How can I get her to listen?!"

"Are you a challenger?" asks the DJ, to which Nate agrees. "Then just defeat her band; you'll be able to grab her attention afterwards."

"OKAY!" Rosa shouts, turning to Nate. He's already heading towards the first drummer, an act that causes the flowery girl to sigh.

...

The white protagonist Hilda raises her Xtransceiver when it goes off. "Hilda?"

"Hilbert, now's not the time for you to question how Natural and I are-

"I'm only questioning if you can help me find Lucas!" This catches her attention. "Kyurem got him."

"Oh no, Lucas!" A worried Hilda turns back to a bathroom door. Out from it steps a flushing noise and N. "N, we have to return to Unova; Hilbert and Lucas are in danger!"

"In danger?"

...

Nate retrieves Ryoku after defeating the second trainer. With her team members no longer playing, Roxie lifts her head up and sees him. "Ah! What's the big idea?!"

"I'm Pokemon Trainer Nate, and this is Rosa. We're here to battle you," says the gray protagonist.

"Then just ask; why would you challenge my band and work your way up when you could have just asked?" Roxie sits her guitar by the wall.

'BECAUSE YOU WERE PLAYING TOO DAMN LOUD!' These are Rosa's thoughts.

"Well, no matter. Get ready!" Roxie holds up a Pokeball. "I'm going to knock some sense into you!"

"This will be a gym match between Roxie of Virbank and..." The referee turns to Nate. "What's your name?"

"Nate Hakumei of Aspertia City."

"Him." Roxie turns to Nate after his words.

"Let's go, Koffing!" Roxie sends out the gas ball Koffing.

"Here we go, Takeru!" The Pignite lands on the field and snorts flames. "Ember!"

Embers shoot out at the gas ball, scorching it. "Koffing, Venoshock." A green ooze fires from Koffing's mouth at the embers, causing an explosion. "Tackle!"

"Flame Charge!" Takeru charges in flames and dashes forward, colliding with Koffing and knocking it in the air. 'Whoa. He's gotten so much stronger!'

"Koffing, Smog!" Koffing releases a poisonous gas cloud, which strikes the pig.

"Ember!" Takeru fires, but the flames reaction to the gas and cause an explosion. Takeru lands outside the flames safely, while Koffing collapses in pain.

"Koffing is unable to battle; Pignite wins." As the referee judges, Roxie retrieves her Pokemon.

"You're doing far better than I expected." Roxie holds out another ball and sends it out. This time it's Whirlipede. "Whirlipede, Steamroller."

"Takeru, receive it!" He raises his arms to block the attack, but the curling Pokemon bowls him over. "Takeru, are you okay?"

The pig nods as he picks himself up, the bug type whirling back around. "Keep rolling him over!"

"Flame Charge!" Takeru ignites himself on fire before charging in, both the Whirlipede and the Pignite getting sent flying back. "Ember!"

"Poison Sting!" Both Pokemon fire long range attacks, each of which cancel the other out. "Venoshock!"

Ooze fires out from Whirlipede at Takeru, who gets poisoned after standing back up. "Takeru!"

"Steamroller!" Whirlipede rolls at Takeru once more.

"Don't rush straight in like before; use Arm Thrust on the side when it approaches!" On Nate's command, Takeru prepares himself for the approaching bug type. When Whirlipede arrives Takeru jumps to the side, a feat possible with its risen speed, and slams both palms on Whirlipede's side. The Pokemon flinches in pain as it lands on the side. "Flame Charge!"

Takeru leaps up in the air and divebombs in a Nitro Charge that causes an explosion. As the smoke clears Whirlipede is shown to have fainted. "Whirlipede is unable to battle; Pignite wins. The winner of this Gym Battle is Nate Hakumei of Aspertia."

"Yatta!" Nate throws his fists up in the air, as does Takeru. The pig leaps onto his trainer for a hug, and ends up crushing him underneath his weight. "Get...off!"

Rosa sighs with grief looking at them, but she ends up smiling knowing that everything worked in the end. He won the battle with only one Pokemon. 'His Pokemon are getting stronger.'

Nate retrieves his Pokemon and turns to Rosa. "How's that? I'm getting stronger every battle!"

"Pretty good, but I would like a battle next." Rosa turns to Roxie.

"In a minute." Roxie looks to Nate with a sigh. "I can't believe I lost...oh well, I guess that means you really are strong. This stinks, but I gave it everything I had, and I feel revitalized and refreshed now!"

Roxie hands over the Toxic Badge. "Thanks Roxie. I hope you and your dad patch things up."

She flushes with embarrassment. "Y-You heard all that?"

"It's okay; you have a point though." Nate makes a nod to her. "I would like to talk to him and convince him that you're right."

"Really?" Roxie gains a slight blush on her face looking up at him. "You'd do that?"

"Sure thing. He's at that Pokestar thing right?" Nate heads out the gym.

"Wait, what about..." Rosa sighs as he leaves. "Damn it...Why did he have to enter someone else's business?"

"He's kinda...admirable..." Roxie says with a much greater blush. Rosa notes this and flinches.

On his way out Nate sees someone with bright yellow hair waiting for him. "Hey you! You were the trainer who defeated Roxie!"

"...Yeah?"

"Great! Come to the Pokestar Studious!" he says before heading north.

Nate stares questionably before following. 'This shouldn't take long.'

"Nate, wait!" The girls Roxie and Rosa meet up with him. "I'm coming with you; I need to convince my old man myself."

"I really doubt you could do it yourself."

"Have a little faith Rosa!"

"I can't, when you're uniformly useless." Nate glares at her before they go towards the studious. "Lets face it; you're not exactly good at convincing people."

Nate continues to glare at Rosa. 'Why is she so cold to me? This isn't teasing anymore.'

The trio follow him outside of the Pokestar Studious. Blondie speaks to a balding gentleman. "That's the boy I was talking about."

"Bonjoir, young trainer. You may call me Mr. Stu Woodo." The well dressed man approaches Nate with a hand shake. "Charmed, I'm sure!"

'What a weird name.' "My name is Nate Hakumei. Nice to meet you." Nate extends his hand to shake.

"Hakumei? As in relations to Hilbert Hakumei, the hero who worked together with Zekrom to defeat Team Plasma?" asks the boss of Pokestar.

"Eh?!" Roxie gasps in shock as well, having realized that.

"Oh yeah. He am I are kind of cousins." Nate scratches his head as he looks up to him.

"Then this works out rather well! Just wait an eensy moment, dahling!" Woodo walks into the studious.

"I'll show you and your friend around." His assistant leads Nate and the girls inside the lot, where they see actors and Pokemon preparing for roles. "Pokestar was created for film making. Many movies have been made and released here."

He brings Nate and the girls up to the main theater. "This is where we film the movies. How about a tour?"

"Um-"

"Sure!" Roxie grabs Nate and leads him inside, leading Rosa to glare at her.

"This is the receptions desk." As they walk in Roxie spots her father not too far away.

"Dad!" Roxie runs up to him, and an argument stirs. Nate watches by with a scowl, while Rosa pulls him away.

"Do you think we should help?" asks Nate as he looks to the two.

"She can handle it." Truth be told she just wants to get him away from Roxie. "So, where to for the next badge?"

"Well..." Nate takes out his Town Map. "Seems we gotta go to Castelia...across this blue route."

"You mean the sea?"

"D'oh!"

"Did I hear you right?" says Stu Woodo as he walks into the theater to another actor. "We need two more replacements?"

"Yeah, the last two quit on us." Stu flips about in a fit of rage. "We just need two young teenagers of opposing genders."

"Two huh..." Stu looks up ahead to spot Nate and Rosa. "That's it; you two!"

"Eh?"

Two Days Later...

Nate approaches Rosa and grabs her. "Go away Jack, or should I call you Riolu-Man! You lied to me; you never told me about your powers! I can't believe I held feelings for you!"

"I'm sorry." Her eyes widen in shock. "I know it's probably not gonna be enough, but I never meant to hurt you Sally. The only reason I never told you was to protect you." Rosa's eyes grow tears. "I promise never to leave you again."

"That's another lie!" Rosa glares at him. "You have a hero complex Jack. You'll leave again, and I'll feel sad when you do..."

"Rosa..." He reaches out and pulls her into a hug.

The brown bun haired girl looks to him and hugs back. "Still, I love you. So there's really little I can do about it."

The two kiss one another, and the scene ends. The audience begins clapping, including Roxie's father and the girl herself.

Nate claps as well, while Rosa shirks in her seat out of embarrassment. Soon everyone leaves the theater, with Roxie's father approaching the gray protagonist. "Nate my boy, you did great!"

"Uh, thanks."

"It's...surprising..." The man pats him on the shoulders and looks back to Roxie. "I've always wanted to make my debut on the big screen...different people have different talents after all...I knew it all along, but seeing Roxie striving to balance her responsibilities, I felt I could accomplish my own dream. I mean, if one stops pursuing their dreams their lives might as well be over."

"Dad, where are you going with this?" asks Roxie.

"I'm going back to my duties as ship captain for now." He raises his right fist high up in the air. "Until the day comes where I'll return to the screen, I'll leave the starring roles to the youth of today!"

"Well, since you mention it can we get a ride to Castelia?" asks Nate hopefully.

"Why of course!"

...

Two knocks go off on the door behind Hilda. "Hilda!" Two knocks go again. "Hilda!" Two knocks. "Hilda!"

The door blasts open, accompanied by white flames. Out steps Hilda, glaring upon N. Her blue eyes flare up along with her white hair before she stomps over to him. Fangs bare as she says, "Stop using that tired reference, especially when I'm in the bathroom!"

"...Got it." Natural backs away as Hilda walks by, each footstep she takes leaving behind flaming footprints. Once she's out of earshot he whispers, "I wonder if this is one of those period things she mention-"

He wouldn't have time to finish once she returns hastily and drop kicks him into a wall. "Never say that again! EVEN IF IT'S TRUE!"

"...Got it." Natural picks himself up, fixing his nose back into place.

...

"We're almost at the shipyard children!" The captain leads Nate-tachi towards the shipyard.

There they spot Team Plasma members ganging up before Hugh. "Hugh!"

Roxie approaches them with a scowl. "It's them! You guys are Team Plasma, right?"

"That's right!" says the left member.

"Two years ago we were betrayed by our king and hero, and our conquest of Unova and the world ended." The second, female member approaches. "If only that boy hadn't shown up to change his heart."

"Our conquest was simply put at rest however, and plan b is already in motion-"

"Shut your ass up!" Hugh shouts angrily. "You guys are the worst; you talk about saving Pokemon from humans, but you only ended up stealing them; you guys I will never forgive!"

The third member growls. "First that Herdier at the ranch, and now these two punks. This kinda stinks."

"It'll be fine, as long as we can steal their Pokemon," says the only female member.

Each Plasma grunt sends out a Pokemon, all of them Patrat. Nate takes out his Pokeball alongside Hugh and Rosa. "You guys ready?"

"You're the last person to ask that!" Rosa states proudly.

"I'll use you grunts as footsteps for my training! I will never forgive you guys!" Hugh adds before he sends out his Pokeball.

Nate and Rosa do as well. For Nate he uses Ryoku, Hugh chooses Pidove and Rosa has Elekid. "Thundershock!"

"Air Slash!"

"Force Palm!" All three Pokemon attack together, striking the Patrats almost in unison. With their combined power they manage to win without trouble. Roxie and her father watch in awe.

"Holy hell! These guys are impossibly strong!"

"Let's bail!" The three grunts run away, escaping the power the three trainers hold.

"We have to catch them!" Roxie says as they all go after Plasma. "They're heading for Route 20."

The group splits up and search for the Plasma grunts. Being alone, Nate continues until he sees a female grunt hiding in the trees. "Gotcha!"

"You pest; this is what happens when people can't just let go!" The grunt takes out her Pokemon Purrloin.

"Purrloin?" Nate looms over the Pokemon and sighs in discontent. "No...Let's go, Ryoku!"

Ryoku nods and stands before him. "Quick Attack!"

"Dodge and use Scratch!" Purrloin leaps over Ryoku's speed attack and lands on his head.

"Counter!" Ryoku grabs hold of the cat's paws and tosses it into the air. "Now, Force Palm!"

Ryoku then leaps in the air at Purrloin, delivering the final blow. "No!"

Nate holds Ryoku in his arms with a smile. "Great job out there Ryoku." Riolu smiles and snuggles in his arms.

"You pesky little bastard!" shouts the woman in anger. "You can't follow my trail if I head overseas!"

The grunt tosses a smokebomb to the ground and dashes off. Nate coughs as he tries to push the smoke away. "Damn it!"

"Nate!" Rosa says as she rejoins him along with the others. "They got away."

"Those guys are like roaches; they're there when you don't want them and hard to get rid of." Hugh grits his teeth angrily.

"She said that she was heading overseas to cover her trail," Nate tells them as he retrieves Ryoku. "So we'll have to go across the ocean."

"Castelia has a large port, and it's closest to this island," Roxie tells them.

"Then I'll take you to Castelia right away." The ship captain heads to Virbank.

The three friends head after him with Roxie close beside Nate. "Nate, here." She hands him the Hidden Machine 01 Cut.

"What's this?"

"It's just my way of thanking you for helping my dad." Roxie points down at the disk. "This will teach your Pokemon the secret move Cut."

"Oh, thanks." Nate pockets the HM as they reenter Virbank. Rosa glares at her from the side.

They soon reach the harbor. The captain turns to the three and asks, "Who would like to go aboard? All of you?"

"I'll stay behind; I want to battle against Roxie in a gym match," says Rosa as she turns to the little rockstar.

"Then I'll go on ahead; I managed to score a badge." Hugh steps beside Nate.

"I want to go too. I'll keep on training and catch up to you guys," says Nate as he looks to his friends.

Quill fish head looks over to our gray protagonist with a smirk. "Good luck with that."

"Hey!"

"Then hop aboard! We'll be departing shortly." With that the two friends enter on the ship. Within a matter of minutes it takes off, cruising across the seas towards the main island of Unova.

As the vessel leaves, Rosa turns her attention Roxie. "I'm ready for our battle."

"Okay. We'll meet back at the gym." Roxie heads off ahead of her. The flowery bun haired girl watches as the vessel takes to the seas.

"Nate..."

On the boat Nate looks out to sea with an amazed, adventurous look on his face. "This is so awesome. I've haven't been off the island since I was seven!"

"It is nice," says Hugh as he looks to the water. A Frillish looks up at him as the ship passes by. "If only they were gone too."

Nate looks over to Hugh before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hugh, you have to let it go."

"No!" Hugh shrugs him off. "I won't forgive them!"

Nate scowls looking at his blue haired friend. 'He's really taken this bad...' Night fall rises over the region as the ship heads over to Castelia. The two trainers retire to bed.

Meanwhile, back at Virbank Whirlipede crashes to the ground. "Whirlipede is unable to battle; Growlithe wins. The victor of this battle is Rosa of Aspertia."

"Good job Growlithe." Rosa retrieves her Pokemon and attaches its ball to her belt. "Thanks for that battle. I would like that badge now."

"Uh, sure." Roxie, retrieving Whirlipede, approaches Rosa with the Toxic Badge. "I'm actually impressed. The only person who could defeat all my team members with one Pokemon was Nate. I guess that's why you two are siblings."

"Actually, Nate and I just live in the same town. He doesn't have any siblings, just cousins," says Rosa as she accepts the badge.

"Really? You seem close to him...are you his girlfriend then?" Roxie's words cause the bun haired trainer to blush.

"N-No! We're just...friends." She turns away to hide her blush.

"Really?" Roxie looks to the side with a smile. "Maybe I have a chance then."

"Eh?" Roxie skips off, leaving Rosa with these thoughts.

The Following Day...

"Castelia City!" shouts the ship captain. With dawn having risen into the eastern sky, Hugh picks himself up and gets dressed.

Nate fumbles around a bit in bed. "Hey, get up! It's time to leave!"

"Mah..." Nate eventually pushes himself out of bed and slowly dresses, his mind still out of it. He looks over to his friend while adjusting his hat, before walking out of the room fully dressed.

The two buddies exit the ship, taking their first steps on Castelia soil/concrete. Nate glances back at the ship captain. "Thanks for teh trip."

"No problem."

"Nate, register me in the Xtransceiver," says Hugh as he holds out his device.

"Huh? Okay." Nate exchanges his and the two record their numbers. "I didn't think we would need to."

"Well, we do now that we're not in Aspertia anymore." Hugh finishes and hands it over to him. Nate finishes as well and returns the Xtransceiver. "Good luck out here; I'm going to challenge the gym."

He then walks off, noticing a ship with sails. Nate takes in a sigh inhale, followed by an exhale as he walks into the city. "He'll be fine."

As he walks he grasps his head in pain. "Ow! What is this?" His eyes look out to sea, where Nate spots what appears to be a unicorn soaring over water. 'A unicorn?'

It disappears across the ocean, and Nate shrugs as he walks towards the city. "What was that?"

As Nate walks up a set of steps he sees a person dressed as a harlequin standing by the Pokemon Center. "Oh, a visitor outside of Castelia. Here, take this trainer."

"Eh?"

The harlequin hands him a folding bicycle. "With this you can zip across the streets and routes with ease."

"Uh...thanks." Nate boards the bike. "Never had a bike before."

"Have fun, and try to catch one of us in the city." The harlequin dances away. Nate watches as he goes, tilting his head to the side.

"...Okay. Now, to try this bad boy out!" Nate hops on his bike and rides it...he tries to ride it, but ends up crashing into a trash can. "Ow!"

He picks himself up and brushes off the trash. "That's right...I don't know how to ride a bike! I've always lived in Aspertia after the move so there was no need to..."

Nate folds up his bike and begins to walk through the city, brushing past the people in his way. The busy streets of Castelia somehow annoys the young trainer. "This is so annoying."

He comes up to a port separate from the one he came by. There he sees a sailor shouting, "Come one, come all! Come take a visit to Liberty Garden, where the legendary Pokemon Victini once lived!"

"Victini?" Nate cups his chin as he remembers Victini as one of Hilbert's Pokemon when he faced N at the Unova League.

Nate continues walking until he spots a familiar image. Across the sea the unicorn returns gliding along the sea. "That Pokemon again." It lands on shore and leaps over building tops. "Hey, wait!"

Nate chases after the Pokemon as fast as he could, leading him to the Castelia gym. "This is...the Castelia Gym...I guess I can do this."

He approaches the gym entrance, only for someone to come out. "If you're looking for the gym leader Burgh, he said there might be trouble and then he took off. You can go look for him if you'd like."

"Ah. Alright then."

"He vanished again?" The two men turn around to spot a preteen dressed in glamorous purple clothes.

"Oh, Iris! Something came up and now Burgh's gone. He may be out for a while."

Iris sighs. "He's always getting writer's block and going out for inspiration...and you are?"

"Oh, I'm Nate Hakumei. I'm here to challenge-"

"Hakumei?" Iris stares at him in shock. "You're...I see. Then you're here to see Burgh for his badge?"

"It may be about Plasma..." says the man.

"Wait, Plasma?! They disbanded two years ago!" shouts Iris as she steps towards the boys.

"Them huh..." Nate turns to the man. "Do you know where he went?"

"Castelia Sewers."

"Thanks!" Nate dashes off into that direction, before stopping to return. "Um...where's that?"

He points southeast and Nate takes off. "Why would he be in the sewers? ...Oh, I get it! That's where shady people would hide!" Iris chases after Nate.

Nate reaches the far southeast of the city. "Alright, where is it?"

"It's down there." Iris points down to the sewer entrance.

"Nate!" Faster than a speeding bullet, Hugh arrives. "Did you find Plasma?"

"Yeah, they're probably down there." Nate points to the entrance. "Maybe we can-"

"-Go!" Hugh dashes over the ledge, leaping down another level and entering the sewers. Nate sighs before walking inside.

Down in the sewers they walk, the smell slapping them in the face like a baseball bat. "AH! It smells down here!"

"Ignore it. Those bastards are down here, and I won't stop til I find them," Hugh tightens his fists angrily. "By the end of this I will get back my sister's Purrloin."

"Hugh, we need to talk about you and your obsession-"

"So you think they should have gotten away with what they did?!" Hugh glares at Nate angrily. "Please tell me you have my back. I won't be able to defeat them all without you."

"Of course I'll stop them. I just don't want you to lose yourself." Hugh walks forward, ignoring his question.

Together the two trail the sewers in search of Plasma. Eventually they find them. Hugh shouts, "Hey!"

The grunts turn to face them. "What do you want?"

"Just you villains."

"Who are you calling villains?" questions the other grunt. "We're simply emancipating Pokemon."

"Don't you mean liberating?" asks Nate.

"You can't kidnap Pokemon and expect to call that liberation!" Hugh holds out a Pokeball.

"Shut up! Hand over your Pokemon." The grunts take out their Pokeballs.

Nate does so as well, saying, "Then we'll just have to do it the hard way."

The boys each send out Takeru and Oda. In response their enemies send out Zubat and Grimer.

...

Lucas, or Kyurem to be more precise, takes in a deep sniff. He then exhales, saying, "Ah. I love the smell of food in the morning."

He looks down to see a wide spread of food. Within a matter of minutes he digs in and wolfs down everything. "Ah, it's nice to taste food again...still, there's something missing...I don't feel as fulfilled."

A maid approaches him. "Here is your bill sir."

"Oh, thanks. Let me give you this as payment." He grabs her arm, and a powerful cold wind explodes from his body. Within seconds the entire restaurant has frozen solid, and Kyurem walks out casually. "Still...what's wrong? Why do I still feel empty?"

* * *

Manabu: That ends this chapter. What's next?

Takeshi: Well next time; more of Hilbert and Hilda will be revealed, Nate will capture more Pokemon and end up taking hold of another badge, and meets Elesa. Don't be surprised by what you see.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Gray Adventure Part 2**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

... Time skip

Kenshin: Have fun with this chapter here. This is for everyone to make up for the lateness.

Julia: What about that other warning?

Kenshin: The what...Oh! There's a boyxboy scene played for laughs here, but we're compelled to warn you about it incase it might repeat itself in later chapters.

_**Journal Entry 4: Love, Pokemon Style!**_

* * *

"Takeru, Nitro Charge!" Takeru charges at the slime grime. Grimer splashes on the walls in pain before fainting.

"Oda, Razor Shell!" Oda comes in and cuts into Zubat, knocking it out as well.

"Damn it! This Pokemon I stole...it's no help at all!" complains the first grunt.

"Whatever! We got what we came for! Let's go!" The Plasma grunts retrieve their Pokemon and run away."

"Hey, wait!" Hugh shouts before they leave, who becomes a bit disgruntled. "Those guys run like Ratatats!"

"Let's continue. There might be more inside," Nate suggests bereft before retrieving Takeru. Hugh calls back Oda and heads further before Hugh.

"That won't be necessary," speaks a voice down the hall to their left. Nate looks upon the person, seeing him as Burgh.

"Wait, you're Burgh the gym leader right?" asks Hugh as he approaches.

"Yessir! One and the same; I'm Burgh," states the bug gym leader. He flicks his scarf before saying, "I checked ahead, and there are no other suspicious characters up ahead."

"Damn," mutters Hugh before turning around.

"So, what's up ahead?" asks Nate with a bit of curiousness.

"Just the Relic Passage. It's clear for everyone to visit though." Burgh turns to Hugh and follows after him. "I'm leaving however; the sewers bug me for a reason."

"Okay, but I'll be coming up to challenge you soon," Nate tells the gym leader, who looks back with a grin and a nod.

"I'll be waiting." With that, Burgh takes off for the surface.

"Oh yeah, Nate!" Hugh comes back and tosses a CD to him. Nate grabs hold of it. "That's HM04 Strength. Thanks for helping me out."

Looking it over, Nate says, "Thanks," before pocketing the Hidden Machine. "Well, I guess I can do some training here."

"That was amazing." A voice coming from the exit behind Nate takes him by surprise. He looks back and sees a white trenchcoat wearing man with blond-blue hair. "I was amazing you were able to bring out the potential of your Pokemon."

"Yeah...do I know you?" Nate asks questionably. The man then walks away, while Nate looks back. He then walks further, going into the passage that adult came out of. His eyes wander around the sewers as he prepares to search for Pokemon to battle against.

After an hour of training Nate walks out from the passageway back to the main sewers. He spots a set of stairs nearby that he hasn't gone up before. "Hmm...what's up here?"

He walks up the stairs, until eventually coming out to the light. It's here Nate sees that he's come out to a garden. "A garden huh? This place looks nice."

He comes to a bench and sits himself down, giving a relaxing sigh. Unknowingly his aura spikes, releasing out at that very moment. "Let's see...I have two Pokemon, Takeru and Ryoku. I need to catch more sooner or later..."

As he thinks outloud, an Eevee comes crawling up to him. "Eh? Oh, an Eevee! Would you like to battle?"

Eevee nods and prepares to fight, with Nate rising up and taking out Ryoku's ball. "Let's go, Ryoku!"

The dog Pokemon lands on his toes and forges a fighting stance, before Eevee charges into a tackle. "Counter!"

Ryoku releases a brown aura that repels the little Normal type, "Now, go in with a Quick Attack!"

Ryoku then charges to swiftly tackle Eevee. With it down Nate takes out a Pokeball and tosses it. The ball captures Eevee before shaking for a little bit, and finally it dies down. Nate walks over and picks the ball up. "Well, I got an Eevee. Now, what to name it...Geki!"

Thinking about his favorite toku series, he pockets the ball and lifts up Riolu. "Let's get going. It's time to search for other places to train."

Nate treks through the sewers to Castelia city. At the entrance he spots Iris standing in his way. "So, did you happen to run into Burgh?"

"Yup. I've been here training for a while," he tells her while holding up Ryoku.

"How many Pokemon do you possess then?"

"About three."

"Then maybe you should add another to your team before going after Burgh, and afterwards see how far you've come against the Castelia gym. Good luck." With a smile and a wink she walks off.

Nate walks towards the Pokemon center and heals his team. He also stops by the Pokemart and grabs some Great and Quick Balls. With his team healed he heads out the door to wander the city, his mind deep in thought about his friends Hugh and Rosa.

Nate continues walking until he reaches the north portion of the city. "Wait, where am I?"

He continues to walk, and eventually reaches the gateway. Before he could pass through he sees the man from before standing in his way. "Oh, it's you again! If it's not an inconvenience, may I have a look at your Pokémon?"

"Um...I'm not sure."

"Oh, but it is for the sake of science. I promise I won't hurt them." Nate contemplates more before sighing and sending out his team of three.

The man examines the Pokemon visually, showing positive eyes as he does. "Interesting. Somehow you've successfully managed to bring out more of your Pokemon's potential than any trainer I've met before. These Pokemon are better off than others of the same species that I've seen, and to think you're just a trainer with two badges."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Nate retrieves his Pokemon. "So uh, can I ask who you are?"

"Oh, excuse me! I am a scientist. My name is Colress." With a clipboard in hand he touches his chest and bows. "The theme of my research is, 'Bringing out the power of Pokémon.'" He turns around and looks to the fountain. "Is it possible to bring out their maximum power through the bond they share with their Trainers? Or is there some other, different method?"Returning his attention to Nate he says, "I'd like to test my theory by battling with you. Do you find this acceptable?"

"Uh, right now?"

"Either all, I will await you tonight by Route 4," says Colress before he walks north past the gateway.

Nate watches as Colress leaves, before looking down at his team of three in ball form. "Maybe I do need to catch another member."

Nate walks forward, passing into the gateway towards Route 4 eventually. On the way he sees Bianca. "Ah, Bianca!"

"Hey, Nate!" Bianca comes up to him, but she ends up tripping and falling on top of him. Her mouth ends up pressing onto his left cheek into a kiss, and they both look into eachother's eyes with red cheeks. Bianca picks herself up quickly, saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"It...it's okay..." he speaks, trying to hold down his blush as he stands. "So, um...what brings you to Castelia?"

"Well, I'm here to try out the Casteliacones. When I saw you talking to that weirdo I tried to catch up with you," she says as she steps closer to him. "I haven't had one in a while and was hoping you'd come with me." She walks back into Castelia, glancing at him as she leaves with a strong blush.

"Ah, wait!" Nate follows after her, his mind forcing him to follow her if only cause of that kiss. Catching up with her they walk through Castelia until they find the ice cream stand. For a day like today it's perfect.

They approach the stand, and the pretty waitress, overjoyed to see people actually coming, says, "Welcome to the Casteliacone Stand, where we sell our special delicacy Casteliacones! ...I'm actually glad someone came."

"Why, what's wrong?" asks Nate as he turns to Bianca.

"These used to be so popular, but recently we don't get as many customers as we used to...Still, whining about it won't accomplish anything." The waitress gains a sudden boost in confidence. With a forced joyous smile, she says, "I just have to work hard and sell. So, how many?"

"Two." Bianca and Nate take out cash to pay for it. The waitress places the money on the register, hands their change back, and goes to work. In less than a minute she hands over two ice cream cones. "Thank you for your patience! Please come again!"

"Thanks!" Bianca takes her cone and begins to eat, with Nate licking his like it's about to bite.

As they eat, an office man comes walking by. "Ho crap! Someone sells ice cream around here?! I'll have one!" The guy comes to the stand to purchase one.

The now happy waitress makes one for him, while Bianca and Nate walk away. The gray protagonist turns to Bianca and says, "This is really delicious! I've never had ice cream before."

"Really? Never?" asks Bianca in a shocked tone of voice, looking at Nate like he's crazy.

"Never. I guess mom never got the time to buy any for the family..." Nate looks to the side thinking about his mother. "Still, thanks for bringing me here."

"No problem, Nate..." Bianca looks to him with intense eyes, almost to the point of being amorous. Her lips purse as she leans closer towards him, a blush rising on her face. "I'll see you later."

Without taking the time to think or consider the consequences Bianca leans in and kisses him again on the cheek. She then walks off, hiding down the blush on her face as best as she could. Nate's face rises in temperature before walking away.

"Okay, see ya," A stunned Nate says as he places a hand onto his left cheek, and blushes remembering the kiss. "Wow...it makes me wish I had a girlfriend...maybe I should look into that."

On his way to Route 4 he finishes the rest of his ice cream, and begins to feel his stomach clamming up. "Gotta go!" He rushes into the nearest building without thinking and rushes up the stairs looking for a bathroom. He continues searching until he reaches a room with a large machine and three beautiful lady scientists at work. He yells, "Bathroom!"

The women turn around to face him, shocked at his sudden appearance. One of them, revealed to be Fennel, says, "Excuse me, but we're working here! Do not disturb."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but bathroom!"

Fennel points to the left of the hallway he came out of. "THANKS!" He rushes down the hall to relieve pressure, and returns after minutes. With a relieved expression on his face he walks to the room. "Huh...so what's this?"

"Oh, you're back." Fennel looks back to see Nate has returned. Her eyes then narrow as she looks at him closer. "You look familiar..."

"Do I?" Nate looks down at his appearance. "I doubt it; my name is Nate Hakumei."

"Ah, I knew it! You're related to Hilbert then!" Fennel smiles before approaching him.

"Well yeah, that." Nate looks at her equipment. "So, what's this about?"

"My name is Fennel; I'm a Pokemon researcher who studies trainers as well as Pokemon dreams. I used to be set up in Accumula Town before moving to Castelia with Amanita." Fennel guides him over to her dream machine. "I actually met Black back two years ago; he was really cute."

"Cute?"

"But it's actually thanks to him that I was able to advance my research," concludes Fennel as she returns to work, writing down an equation.

"I see...well, thanks for the info. I gotta go catch more Pokemon for my gym battle against Burgh," Nate tells her before he leaves.

"Well, if you're looking for a new Pokemon, then Amanita can help you." Fennel gestures to the brown haired girl.

Nate looks to Amanita, who says, "Hi. I'm the creator of the Unova Pokemon Storage System, which allows trainers to exchange their Pokemon and keep them safe."

"Pokemon storage system? Is it safe?" Nate asks with curious desire.

"Oh yes. The PC storage system is open for Pokedex owners; it safely puts the Pokemon into an electronic storage system. This is helpful for Pokedex owners who wish to complete their entire entries and catch as many Pokemon as possible, since a trainer can only hold six Pokemon at a time."

"Wait, what?" Nate backs away in surprise. "Only six?!"

"I don't know why six, but that's the limit all trainers have. Are you a beginner?" asks Amanita as she examines the perplexed Nate.

"Six huh? Thanks!" Nate dashes out the room. "Thanks for the talk Ms. Fennel!" He heads down the stairs and rushes out the door after descending two flights of stairs.

With the thought of having only six Pokemon on his team he begins to think about who he could add to his team. "I have three...I should probably have a Grass or Water type...then again what was that Pokemon shaped like a unicorn before?"

Eventually he comes to spot the ice cream stand, his stomach grumbling at the thought of it. But as he nears the stand he sees that the waitress is dancing amongst customers. A song plays as some fat guy chef sings.

"Ca-Castel-Casteliacone! Ca-Castel-Casteliacone! It tastes so delicious! Very! Very! Very healthy Casteliacone!" sings the chef as Nate walks by him to the waitress.

"Oh, it's you! Thanks for your purchase, because now people are beginning to buy these again!" she tells him with a joyful voice. "Are you here for another?"

"Of course!" he says with glee, already taking money out to buy it. She quits dancing for a while to fix him another cone and hand it to him. "Thanks!"

"No problem, and come again!" She resumes dancing while Nate leaves.

With his ice cream finished he passes through the gate into Route 4. As he walks outside he looks up near the blazing sun. "Hm. I'm burning daylight..."

Nate continues to move until he stops upon feeling something. "What the?" He then hears a loud bird sound. "Huh?" He walks into the direction of the noise, walking through sandy ground. He spots, to his shock, a colorful eagle Pokemon perched over top of a barbed fence. "Huh...what's this?"

He takes out his Pokedex and scans. "Braviary, the Valiant Pokemon; These powerful birds are strong enough to lift an automobile in flight, and will fight for their friends as hard as they can without fear for their lives. The more scars one has the more respect it gains amongst their peers."

"Wow...I gotta get it!" Braviary hears him and spreads his wings. "You want to take my challenge?" The bird takes flight and faces the gray protagonist, giving him the okay. "Let's go, Takeru! Nitro Charge!"

Sending out Pignite his Pokemon charges with flames and dashes at Braviary, who flaps his wings and dodges. It then comes down and uses Fury Attack upon the fire type. "Fight back using Arm Thrust!"

Takeru shoves his palm at the next attack, countering and knocking the beak back. "Now, Ember!"

He then fires a ball of flames at the eagle, who gets struck in the face. The defiant bird caws before coming in for a peck. This causes severe damage to the pig. "Return, Takeru!"

Nate looks down at the next ball he picks up, knowing it's a bit of a gamble. "Let's go, Ryoku!" With his new Pokemon out Braviary comes down with Fury Attack.

"Counter!" Ryoku takes the hit and reflects it back, knocking the bird into the fence. Seeing his chance Nate takes out a Great Ball.

It captures the eagle and shakes for a bit, until finally after ten grueling seconds stops. The gray protagonist walks over to the ball and picks it up, before taking out his Pokedex to check the stats. "Let's see...this guy's attack is strong, and the speed compliments well."

Nate then pockets his Pokemon and looks to Ryoku. "Great job Ryoku. You did great."

Riolu nods and gives a thumbs up, before glowing brightly. The solar light shines down upon him as Ryoku changes, taking Nate by surprise. The Pokemon then stands tall in blue, as Lucario. "Huh...who's this guy?"

Taking out his Pokedex he scans. "Lucario, the Aura Pokemon; One of the few Pokemon capable of reading and utilizing aura it can sense and read the feelings of others over half a mile away. Its signature attack is Aura Sphere."

"Nice. Let's get you to the center to rest," says Nate before he retrieves his Pokemon, a satisfied look on his face. He then walks towards Castelia City, his mind on challenging the gym now.

...

Hilbert walks across the frosty landscape of a frozen wasteland, giving out a heavy yawn as the snow pummels him lightly. He generates a field of electric energy to repel the frost. "Let's see...this is where the rumors have mentioned the monster..." He continues walking until he comes before a large chasm, where the subzero temperatures seem to be even more intense.

"Yeah he's been here," he says before taking a moment to smell the air. His heightened sense of smell allows him to determine if anything is still inside. "I smell nothing...I guess he doesn't give off a scent."

Hilbert shrugs before turning around to walk away. As he does he can feel the atmosphere has become much colder than before. "What the heck?"

He looks ahead and sees a figure walking towards him. Enshrouded in the icy mist is a yellow-eyed being human sized. "Oh, what do you know? It's you."

"Lucas!" Hilbert prepares himself by summoning electricity.

"Yeah, don't even bother." Snow gathers around Hilbert, his powers beginning to falter. The ice dragon human laughs coldly as Hilbert falls to his knees. "Your powers belong to me, so I can stop them whenever I want."

Hilbert grabs hold of his arms shivering. He jitters, "So cold, so cold," as he tries to warm himself up. His red eyes glare up angrily at the gray monster, and says, "Kyurem, let Lucas go!"

"I don't have to do anything." Kyurem walks slowly towards the wintered boy. With a fanged grin he speaks, "All I want is for you to give me my powers back, by any means necessary. This body more useful than any human's I've taken over, but I'd rather much have my own body. It's been my desire ever since I discovered their whereabouts."

"Why? What's so great about Lucas' body?" questions Hilbert as he takes out a Pokeball.

"If you're planning to leave the country don't. I've already made ice barriers to trap you here. Your sister is in Unova as well, so now I don't have to go looking." Kyurem laughs a bit before releasing an icy breath.

"Raika!" Hilbert sends out Elesa's former Pokemon before he rides aboard it to escape the ice dragon. "I have no interest in dying here. I would have been fine before giving my life up, but I'll only be making allot of people I love deeply sad!" With this triumphant statement he rides out of the chasm past the icy landscape.

Kyurem watches as he runs, before muttering, "People you love, huh?"

...

Nate looks up at the Castelia gym, his Pokemon fully healed and prepared for battle. "Alright, let's do this."

Before he could enter Hugh comes out the front door. "Oh, there you were. I just got my badge!" He grins before showing off his badge.

"Then, I'll be getting mine next!" says Nate before he walks past his friend.

"Good luck then, you'll need it." Hugh watches as his brown haired pal goes into the gym while holding his starter's Pokeball.

Walking inside Nate sees a series of cocoons and webbing connecting to the top. "This is weird...stupid weird." He approaches the first cocoon and enters it. But that's when a strong wind pulls him inside. "What the?"

The wind sucks him through the webbing tunnels to the next level. He breathes in sharply, saying, "That was...alright, where's the next one?"

Nate continues to walk through the platform he's been brought to, traveling into and out of cocoon tunnels until he comes before the top floor. He looks down to see he's now standing on top of a floor made of liquid. He looks down to see that it's paint. "Huh..where am I?"

"You're at the top floor!" Nate looks to the left to see Burgh putting down a painting. "I made this entire landscape you see with the help of my artistic vision, and Leavanny. Do you like?"

"...it's artistic, I'll give you that," says Nate in a quaint and yet appreciative tone.

"I'm actually glad you came. Your friend with the spiky hair was an impressive challenge, but I'm actually interested in seeing how you do." Burgh gives off an eager grin while holding out his hand to him. "Good work back there in the sewers. My Bug-type Pokémon have been scurrying with excitement about getting to battle you. I'd say my Bug-type Pokémon are pretty great! C'mon, let me brag a little! Dwebble's round little eyes are cute! It's resilient and reliable! My ace is Leavanny! It's really the best! I think it's so sweet how it makes clothes for other Pokémon out of leaves. Of course, I'm really proud of all of my Pokémon!"

Nate looks at him with a bored look. "Can we battle?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Let's get right to it." With a smile, Burgh sends out his first Pokemon, Swadloon. "This will be a three against three Pokemon battle; the loser is the trainer who has no Pokemon left to battle, and only the challenger can substitute during battle."

"Good for me; I am Nate Hakumei of Aspertia." Nate takes out his first Pokeball, the one that contains Takeru. "Go, Takeru!"

Pignite pops out and prepares to fight against him. "A fire type as I suspected. Use Razor Leaf!"

Swadloon sends a flurry of sharp leaves at Takeru. "Nitro Charge!"

Flaring up, the fire pig dashes through the leaves, each one burning up on contact, and makes a tackle upon the Swadloon. "Yes, Swadloon's a grass type! Now, Ember!"

Takeru's follow up strikes the Pokemon in the face, which ends up causing it to faint. "Yes! Alright, Takeru!"

"Very good. But now, you'll try your luck with this one." Burgh retrieves his Pokemon and sends out Dwebble.

"Another bug I think...Go, Nitro Charge!" Takeru charges at the crustacean while surrounded in flames, but the impact is cushioned on Dwebble's end by the shell on its back. "Nothing?"

"You won't be able to break through Dwebble's defenses with fire alone; Rock Pokemon have resistance against flames," speaks Burgh before Nate begins to think of a plan.

"It's a two part type?" Nate realizes.

"Dwebble, Smack Down!" Dwebble shoots a metallic, golden orb at Takeru, which explodes on contact. "Once more!"

"Takeru, Arm Thrust!" Pignite smacks against the golden orb, managing to protect himself from getting directly hit. Takeru then rushes over to Dwebble, his speed already increased by the Nitro Charge.

"Rock Polish!" Dwebble goes to work polishing the stone on his back, before he zips across the ground to dodge the Arm Thrust.

"Don't let him get away! Nitro Charge!" Takeru dashes at Dwebble at a higher speed.

"Now, Struggle Bug!" Dwebble releases a burst of red energy from his body the moment Takeru approaches, blowing him back.

"Damn it..." Nate begins to think of a way for Takeru to get in close for an attack. "Maybe...Return!"

He retrieves his Pokemon, and holds out another ball. "I'll send out Ryoku!" Lucario appears to the battlefield, growling as he makes his stance. "Force Palm!"

Ryoku charges in to strike, but the Pokemon zips out of the way with its higher speed. "Smack Down!"

"Sneak in with Quick Attack!" Ryoku charges past the orb and tackles Dwebble, who blocks at the last minute with his rock. 'There's gotta be a way around that...What's strong against rocks...fighting?' "Force Palm!"

"Smack Down!" Dwebble fires the moment Ryoku comes in close.

"Now, Counter!" Just before it hits, Ryoku releases an aura that repels the attack and knocks Dwebble away. The insect type falls to the ground in pain. "Finish it off with Force Palm!"

Ryoku's next strike finally finishes off the crustacean, leaving it to hit the ground fainting. "That's another."

"Impressive. Could it be that I'm in trouble?" Burgh retrieves his Pokemon and then sends out the last. "It's your turn; show him what Bug Pokemon are capable of, Leavanny!"

His last is the evolved form of Swadloon, the motherly Leavanny. "That looks like Leavanny...Return, Ryoku!" Nate swaps his Pokemon for Takeru. "Takeru, Nitro Charge!"

"String Shot to escape." Leavanny uses threads to pull herself into the air, escaping the fire attack. "Now, Razor Leaf."

Leavanny, while mid air, attacks Takeru from above the moment he's out of his fire jacket. "Now, Cut!"

"Block it by the arms!" Takeru raises his hands to grab hold of the blade arms, but when he does Leavanny slips them through and comes in with a double side slash. "No, Takeru!"

The pig falls on his back, having fainted from that critical hit. Burgh makes a soft grin as he watches Nate retrieve his Pokemon. "I'm expecting allot out of you for this last battle; Lucario's fighting moves are ineffective against bug types."

"I see..." Nate looks down at Ryoku's ball. "This battle isn't over yet...I'll try him!"

He switches for his newest Pokemon. "I don't have a good name for you, but let's get going Jet!"

His third Pokemon comes out, Braviary. The appearance of such a Pokemon takes Burgh by surprise. "A Braviary?"

"Let's see...if I remember correctly I can use the Pokedex to check the Pokemon's abilities..." Nate quickly takes out his Pokedex and reads his Pokemon's moves. "Alright. Wing Attack!"

Jet looks back at Nate before scuffing. "Hey? Are you-"

The bird then flies at Leavanny and strikes her with the right wing, taking her by surprise and knocking her back. "Leavanny, Struggle Bug!"

"Uh, Scary Face!" Jet glares evilly at the motherly insect, scaring her and preventing her from using her move. "Now-" Jet then comes in and uses Fury Attack upon Leavanny, without a single consideration for Nate. "...Okay..."

Jet then finishes with Wing Attack, knocking the motherly insect out. With this victory Jet makes a loud caw, while Burgh retrieves his Pokemon. "Well, that was interesting."

"Certainly..." Nate calls back his Pokemon before approaching the gym leader, trekking through the painted floor. "I can't understand why he didn't listen to me."

"Captured Pokemon can be unruly at times. Normally it's because it doesn't respect the trainer enough," he tells him, bringing him to understand better about the situation. "Still, from what I've seen you're strong. Eventually you'll manage to get Braviary under control, so take this Insect Badge."

Nate holds his hand out and receives the badge, smiling as he counts his currently owned ones in his head. "Yes! That makes three!"

"Good luck out there. You'll be fine." Nate nods happily before walking back to the hole he came out of. "Take the one on your right."

"Okay." Nate walks over to the next hole, and it takes him down. Once he reaches the ground floor he steps out of the gym with a casual grin.

Burgh meanwhile goes to work on a painting. His mind goes back to Nate, thinking, 'No doubt about it. That was a relative of Hilbert.'

As Nate leaves the gym he notices the skies are turning dark. "It's almost dark...I still have to see to that guy."

In the course of an hour, Nate has his Pokemon be healed, grabs a bite to eat, and heads north of Castelia towards Route 4. He walks through the gate to the other side, and sees that twilight is becoming more apparent. The gray protagonist walks across the concrete ground until he spots Colress up ahead.

"Oh, you've finally made it." Colress turns his eyes to an assortment of boulders in their way. "These boulders in the way are not rocks...they are Crustle, the evolved form of Dwebble."

"Really?" Nate almost immediately sends out Ryoku. "Ryoku, can you convince them to move aside?"

"That won't be necessary." Colress presses a button on a device, and with it each and every crustacean in their way moves aside. "I've created this device to energize Pokemon."

Soon all of the Crustles go away, and Colress walks towards a park-like region down the road. Nate and Ryoku follow him, and the adult sends out the Pokemon Magneton. Night falls, the outside lights turning on in response. "Those Crustle...were they just lying here out of energy."

"Okay, are you ready?" Nate questions him, as he and Ryoku make a fighting stance.

"It was Plasma who said it." Nate's left eyebrow raises. "Pokemon have potential hidden inside of them and the best way to bring it out is to liberate them from humans." Colress turns around to face Nate. "I however disagree; reversing it, humans are necessary in bringing out that potential! I will see if you can do that by testing you."

Colress' Magneton flies before Ryoku. Before the battle begins he speaks, "By the way, I never got a chance to learn your name."

"My name is Nate Hakumei from Aspertia," states the proud gray protagonist.

It's short, and Nate didn't notice it, but the mention of the name Hakumei gives Colress a sudden change in his eyes. "Very well then, Nate. Magneton, Flash!"

A bright light releases from the metal type's body, blinding Ryoku and Nate for the moment. "Now, Thundershock!"

Electricity releases from the triple magnet threat towards the jackal. Even though he couldn't see properly Nate still heard him. "Ryoku, try Counter!"

Ryoku tries to fight back, but his move fails and he gets electrified. An image of Ryoku getting hurt enters his mind. "What?"

"Counter only works on physical attacks. Maybe you should look into your Pokemon's attacks more." As Colress speaks Ryoku falls to his knees after the shock ends.

Nate grits his teeth as he thinks. "Okay, let's see...Use Quick Attack to get in close!"

Ryoku stands back up and dashes at Magneton. "Foolish. Flash!"

"Close your eyes!" Ryoku shuts his eyes and continues to dash forward. Without realizing it at first he manages to strike Magneton. Nate has his eyes closed as well, and for an odd reason begins seeing in blue. He could see Magneton's outline in blue, as well as Colress and Ryoku. Upon looking at his Pokemon he sees a much more defined and stronger blue presence. 'What? What's going on?'

"Thundershock!" Magneton releases electricity at Ryoku, but this time he sees it coming.

"Dodge and use Force Palm!" Ryoku dips to the left and strikes by releasing a blast of energy from the right palm. The attack knocks Magneton off its orbit, but the action in how he did it intrigues Colress.

"Magnet Bomb!" Metal parts form around Magneton and fire at Ryoku.

"Let's see...what can he do...I got it! Block them all using Force Palm!" Not wanting to risk Counter again, Ryoku uses the power of the blue energy to block the bombs. "Now, finish it off with Quick Attack!"

Ryoku dashes in to give a quick tackle, finally knocking the magnet Pokemon down. "Splendid. You really are quite the trainer." He retrieves his Pokemon and walks towards Nate. "Just like the gym leaders, the Elite Four, the five Champions and that boy, you can bring out the power of your Pokemon through kindness...although, I feel there's another reason...still, that's the type of person you are."

"Uh, thanks." Nate feels uncertain on how he should react to the situation. He retrieves Ryoku to the safety of his Pokeball.

"It's a little frustrating...if only we could all talk to Pokemon then that would help bring out their potential more easily..." says Colress as he looks away. "But the only ones who can are empaths and aura guardians, both of which are nearing extinction."

"Empaths? Aura guardian? What's that?" asks Nate with curiosity.

"Empaths are humans who possess psychic powers similar to Pokemon, while aura guardians are a group of aura users who can utilize the energy of life called aura." Colress' words remind the gray protagonist of something he read in Riolu's entry as well as Lucario's. "Well, good luck Nate. I hope to meet you again someday."

Colress walks away silently, trekking through the night into the dark. Nate watches as he leaves, before turning to Castelia. He dashes as fast as he could to the Pokemon Center.

As Colress walks, he takes out a communicator that has begun ringing. "Colress speaking."

"How was he?" asks a deep yet forced voice on the other end.

"He's strong, strong enough that his growing strength will form a major compound. He makes mistakes, but he's like a bonsai tree at the moment." Colress thinks back to his battle with Nate, and how he could direct Ryoku without seeing.

"Does he know anything about her?"

"No."

"Then continue with your work." The other side hangs up, and Colress continues walking.

"He has no idea of his powers...still, if he had them why hasn't any other member of his family exhibited it?" This question dawns in his mind as he vanishes into the night.

The Next Morning...

"Alright, let's get moving!" Nate dashes out the Pokemon Center with renewed vigor, his eyes set on taking on the next gym. On his way he stops by the Casteliacone shop, enjoys their catchy music song, and buys a cone before going to Route 4.

He continues to walk through Route 4, meeting trainers who stand in his way. Thanks to Takeru, Ryoku, Geki and on occasion the poorly named Jet he's able to plow through without trouble. With the cool autumn breeze blowing on his skin he takes his time going down the last half towards Nimbasa City.

"Four Pokemon. I should have better luck this time against the gym leader." He walks towards the gate leading into the city, going through a shopping district.

He walks by a stand, where someone says, "Good morning sir. May I interest you in a Rosa special?"

Nate pauses at the mention of his friend's name. "A what?"

"The main special is named after the owner of Join Avenue. She recently took ownership just earlier this morning." At that Nate simply shakes his head and walks forward.

"When did she get ahead of me?" asks Nate to himself curiously.

Nate walks out of Join Avenue to Nimbasa City. Unova's heart of entertainment takes him by surprise before he gives an awe inspired expression. There are allot more people here enjoying themselves than back in Castelia. The gray protagonist walks by until he finds the amusement park area.

Entering the district he reads a list of places to visit. "Let's see...Nimbasa Gym, Nimbasa Fashion Show, Rende-View Ferris Wheel, Roller Coaster...I have time, so on to the Ferris Wheel."

Nate wanders over to the Ferris Wheel, looking up in awe at the construction. "So, this is it, the Rende-View...Maybe I can come here with someone I like someday." As he says this he blushes thinking of Rosa, before the image of Bianca sneaks in. He shakes his head and his thoughts are gone. "Wait, why do I still want Rosa anyway? She doesn't like like me, right?"

"Uh, hello?" Nate looks back to see someone standing near the entrance. "Hi. You going on the Ferris Wheel?"

"Uh, yeah." Nate shyly rubs his head looking at the person, staring at the purple hair and pretty face. To be honest this person is much prettier than Rosa. "Um, I was actually planning to, but I think it's best I go with someone I know."

"Then, we can go together. I've been meaning to ride the Ferris Wheel for a while now..." Nate takes a moment to think, before stretching his hand out to the purple haired person. "I'm June, a Nursery Aide."

"I'm Nate, a trainer from Aspertia." Nate extends his hand out to June, who accepts it.

"Well, let's hop on!" Together June and Nate enter the Ferris Wheel, and it takes off. As they quietly ascend, June looks out the window, giving out a calm sigh. "I wish sometimes I could just keep doing Pokemon battles. A part of me really wants to quit my job..."

"What's wrong?" Nate looks to his fellow passenger.

"I...sorta got another trainer who left some Pokemon with us mad..." June's chin is cupped by the left hand while looking out the window. "Neh, Nate, what would you say about a Pokemon getting hurt while fooling around with another? I've always had felt like that kind of thing's an important experience, but now I'm not so sure."

"Well, battles are important to help Pokemon grow. Still, I would never force them to do something they would hate me for," says the gray protagonist. With a smile June leans beside Nate, finding himself more comfortable around this boy than anyone else. "Let's just enjoy the ride, okay?"

"Sure." The wheel continues to turn, and soon they reach the top. June looks to Nate, a faint blush rising up. Nate stares back, trying his best to fight back his own redness. June turns away, sweating uncontrollably now. "Man...it's getting hot in here. Would you mind if I take off my shirt?"

"Eh?!" Nate blushes even more now before turning away. "Here?! In front of me?! You're okay with that?!"

"Well, I guess I can keep it on. We're almost near the bottom," says June before glancing out the window.

Nate gives a sigh of relief. 'That was close. Things are happening so fast; I wonder though...maybe I could ask her out...'

The Ferris wheel finally reaches the bottom, and up stands Nate and his friend. June slowly steps out of the carriage, but accidentally trips on the edge. "Look out!" Nate reaches out to grab June, but the two of them fall. They look into eachother's eyes in shock realizing their lips have kissed one another.

Nate immediately backs away, holding his lips with confusion and shock, as well as joy. 'That was...nice...my first kiss was great!'

June, feeling the exact same results, gives off a blush as well as a smile. Turning to Nate the nursery aide says, "This was a nice ride...you okay? Your face is as red as a Pansear."

"You're not one to talk!" Nate says to June, before the two of them laugh. "This actually was nice, before you said you were planning to take off your shirt."

"Huh? I don't think there's anything wrong with that," says June before grinning in a shy manner. "Even if I did take my shirt off it shouldn't feel weird for a guy to do that near another guy."

"Well I guess, but you...wait, what?" Nate stares at June in shock.

"Oh yeah, I'm a guy," he tells him, bringing his surprised face to evolve past sheer confusion. "I probably should have told you that from the start; my job only hires girls, but I needed the health insurance so I passed myself off as a woman. My family has a long standing history of feminine men so no one figured it out at first. But when they did they accepted me as long as I kept claiming to be a girl; I guess I'm good at the job."

"..." Nate remains frozen in shock.

"What?" June then gasps in realization. "Oh god! You don't like guys do you?!"

Even with this question he remains frozen, that blush on his face slowly diminishing. June sighs before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, sorry about that. But if you still want to hang out, or if you change your mind, stop Nimbasa whenever you want...sorry about the kiss."

June then smiles as he walks off, glancing back occasionally to blush at Nate. For a few minutes Nate remains this way. Someone approaches the Ferris Wheel, a Beauty with tall hair. "Excuse me, are yo-"

"AAAAH!" Nate makes a sudden scream that scares her back.

Off in the city, the kings of the Battle Subway hear the scream. Ingo asks, "Emmet, do you hear that?"

"I feel that."

Back with Rosa in Castelia she looks back from her Casteliacone muttering, "What the hell is that noise?"

Nate stomps away from the Ferris wheel, finding himself grossed out. He looks ahead and spots a shining beauty sitting by a park bench. Nate sits down beside her. "Uh, you're a girl right?"

Elesa looks at him, slightly flabbergasted. "That's the first time anyone's ever asked me that."

"I'm sorry; my head's elsewhere..." Nate looks up to her and gasps. "You're Nimbasa's gym leader, world famous supermodel, and Hilbert's girlfriend, right?"

"Yes, I'm Elesa," she tells him with a smile, turning herself around. In her arms Nate sees a baby with black hair and red eyes. "You know Hilbert?"

"We're cousins." This revelation brings a hopeful expression to her face.

"So then, you know where he is?! He's been missing for over a year now!" Elesa desperately says while leaning in close to him.

"N-No, sorry." She frowns and looks away sad. "I haven't heard from him in over a year."

"I see..." Elesa looks down at the baby, who begins to shift and whine a bit. "I guess I have to wait more."

"I did hear about you from him; you really got his affections." She blushes a bit at the compliment. Nate then stands, saying, "Anyway, I'd like to battle you!"

"Of course. I'll accept any and all challengers." Elesa tickles the baby, who coos feeling her soft fingers on his skin. "I'll see you at the gym in 5."

"Sure thing." Nate watches as she leaves, his own heart calming down a bit now that he knows he finds girls attractive. "Also, I think he's right. You must be a great person to take care of someone else's baby?"

"Oh?" Elesa turns to Nate perplexed. Looking down at the child she realizes what he means and says, "Oh, this is my child. His name is Tatsuo."

Nate stares at her and then the baby in shock. "...Eh?"

"I think it's an appropriate name; Hilbert is dragon-like himself so this name works out." Elesa leans her head down to kiss the baby, causing him to giggle. "I'll await you at the gym."

As Elesa walks away, Nate watches in shock. "Holy crap...Hilbert's a father?"

He then picks himself up and wanders towards the center. "I wonder how Aunt Zelda's handling this?" He keeps walking until he spots an Xtransceiver on the ground. "Eh?" Bending his knees to pick it up and looks over it. "What the?"

The device ringing surprises him into tossing it in the air. He catches it and answers the device. "Hello?"

There's only audio. "Um...hello? Who is this?"

"The guy who found an Xtransceiver. I don't need it so you can have it back if you want," says Nate as he turns on the speakerphone.

"Well yeah, I'm the owner. I have an old Xtransceiver now, so it's just audio. Thanks for finding it, but I can't come pick it up right now."

"Oh...when can we?" asks Nate looking down at the device.

"Well, I'm stuck at work and I'm not in a place where I can stop and come pick it up. Can you hold onto it for a while?" asks the female voice on the other end.

"Sure thing."

"Really?! Oh, thank you so much! Just catch me by my name. It's Na...I mean, Yancy. And you?"

"Nate," he tells her in a simple statement.

"Okay. When work calms down I'll call you so I can pick it up. I'll call your Xtransceiver often to keep track. Thank you Nate." The other end hangs up.

"Well...I guess I'm meeting someone later." Nate pockets the Xtransceiver in his bag, heading over to the Pokemon Center to prepare his battle against Elesa.

Eventually he leaves the amusement park district and spots the center not too far away, but on his way he spots Rosa standing by a large building. "Eh?! Rosa?"

She turns around, and in shock says, "Ah, Nate!" Her friend approaches with a calm, cool posture. "How's it going?"

"Managed to grab my third badge. How about you?" asks Nate of the doughnut haired girl.

"Well, I hear the Gear Station is good for having Pokemon Battles in the subway, so I came here first. And what do I find, these two!" Rosa gestures to two guys, the Subway Bosses Emmet and Ingo. "These two are the strongest in Gear Station, and are perfectly capable of facing me in battle two on two though."

"Hey, how would you like to join her?" asks Emmet of the little boy. "Two against one is boring after all."

"Deal!" Nate takes out his own Pokeball and prepares himself.

"This will be an amazing opportunity." Rosa prepares her own Pokeball. "Together even you can defeat these guys."

"Hey!"

"Having a battle in a place like this is a bit irregular, but what the hell?" Ingo says with a shrug as the black clothed trainer takes out a Pokeball. "Emmet, anything to add?"

"Nope. Just fasten your seat belts and hold onto your 3D glasses, because we're coming at ya!" Emmet takes out his Pokeball and twirls it on his right index finger.

* * *

Manabu: That ends this chapter. What's next?

Takeshi: Next time Nate hangs out around Rosa and begins to warm up to her again. He then challenges the Nimbasa gym before meeting someone else who may be a threat.

Yusei: To him?

Takeshi: No.

Manabu: We thank you for your support, readers and reviewers alike. Happy New Year!


	5. Chapter 5

**The Gray Adventure Part 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

... Time skip

Takeshi: Hello all. We bring to you the next chapter to the Gray Adventure Part 2.

Ryuuto: Sorry to keep you waiting!

Manabu: Who are you?

Takeshi: This time Nate will have his true powers revealed and meet up with ex members of Plasma.

_**Journal Entry 5: Flashy Revelations**_

* * *

"Let's go, Electabuzz!" Rosa sends out her first Pokemon, the electrifying Electabuzz. Nate looks at her Pokemon in shock.

"When did Elekid evolve into that?!"

"I've been so busy," she confesses before turning her attention to the two Subway rulers.

"Go, Boldore!" Ingo sends out his Pokemon, the rock type Boldore.

"Let's get 'em, Gurdus!" Emmet chooses his Pokemon Gurdurr.

Ingo turns to his friend and mutters, "Lame."

"Shut up!"

"Alright, I choose..." Nate pauses for a moment to think about which Pokemon to send out. After a few seconds of debating, since he knows nothing about Pokemon types he simply chooses Braviary. "...Jet!"

"Jet? When did you get that?" asks Rosa, looking at the American eagle.

"Boldore, Power Gem!" The walking boulder forms energy around a gem on his forehead, and fires at Jet.

"Light Screen!" Electabuzz forms a barrier before Jet and blocks the gem. "Now, Thunder Shock!"

"Chip Away!" Gurdus swings his beam to block the electricity.

"Jet, fly in and dive bomb with Aerial Ace!" Jet ignores Nate and perches on a lamppost. "Hey, get back into the game!"

Jet looks away and scowls, showing a defiant personality. "What the hell's his problem?"

"You couldn't have picked a better Pokemon? Your Jet doesn't respect you as a trainer yet," Rosa tells Nate, who simply retrieves his Pokemon.

"Ah..." he groans before sending out another Pokemon. "I'm counting on you, Ryoku!" His neck Pokemon is the blue oracle Lucario. "Quick Attack!"

Ryoku dashes at Gurdus and strikes him in the ribs. The muscular Pokemon falls to his back from his attack. "Gurdus, counter attack with Wake Up Slap!"

Gurdus twirls his beam and swings at Lucario, who rolls over it. 'Let's see...if he gets in closer he could use Force Palm on the knees.' Ryoku goes in at the left knee and strikes using Force Palm, surprising him and the others. "Eh? But I didn't..."

Rosa looks to Nate with renew worry. She sucks in air and turns to the battle. "Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!"

Her Pokemon slugs the stone boulder away, but its impressive weight only knocks it a few feet away. "Power Stone!"

"Wake Up Slap!" The two Pokemon team together to strike the battle couple.

"Counter!" Lucario stands before the beam and takes the hit, having it reflect upon Gurdus to deal heavy damage. Light Screen raises and blocks Power Stone.

"Thunder Punch!" Electabuzz comes in at Boldore and finishes it off with a powerful punch.

The two Pokemon fall to the ground in pain, having fainted from the strike. The Subway bosses retrieve their Pokemon. Ingo says, "Well, bravo! Keep moving forward to your next goal."

"I can't believe I lost. You guys are much stronger than I thought," Emmet adds with a shrug.

"This was fun; let's get back to work Emmet, and try not to blow up the place." Ingo heads inside with a stretch of the arm.

"That only happened once!" Emmet follows after.

Nate and Rosa turn to eachother. "Those guys were tough, even when they were holding back."

"They were?"

"Still, it's nice to hang out again. How's it going Nate?" Rosa smiles before holding her hand out to him. "Did you get strong enough to atleast beat Hugh?"

"Don't belittle me! I've already gained 3 badges! I'll be taking Elesa's by the end of the day!" Nate crosses his arms with a stern grin. "I'll also be surpassing you very soon."

"Doubt it." Her calm voice angers the teenager. Rosa then gains a small smile on her face before she looks away. "How about we explore the city before your next gym battle?"

"Sure thing, and then I'll prove how strong I've really become." Nate walks forward past Rosa, who leisurely follows after him. She moves by his side and holds his hand, causing him to blush slightly.

...

Hilbert opens his eyes, looking up at the ceiling. He stretches his arms out with a yawn. "Man...I feel real tired..."

"You should be." He quickly rises up in shock at the female voice nearby. He looks around to see a familiar face; Cheryl. She bends down to hand him a bowl of soup. "You were freezing cold when I found you."

"Cheryl? How did you find me?" asks Hilbert before picking himself up.

"I contacted with some nearby Pokemon to help me find Zekrom, and they led me to you," says Cheryl before sitting down beside him. He takes the bowl of soup and drinks. "Have you found Lucas?"

"Yes, but he's more or less being controlled by Kyurem again." Hilbert continues to sip with a soothing sigh.

"I see...what can we do?" asks the green haired girl with clenched hands. Her heart brims with worry for her beloved boyfriend.

"I'll bring you to him. Maybe if he sees you Lucas might be able to break free." Hilbert finishes his soup. "By the way, have you seen Elesa or Skyla?"

...

Nightfall dims down over Nimbasa after a fun day of exploration. "What a great day this has been!"

"I know. Makes you feel energized, doesn't it?" asks Rosa before she leans closer to him. "Are you ready for your gym battle?"

"Yup. I feel I can do anything now!" shouts Nate before he heads for the amusement park area. Rosa smiles a bit before taking his right hand. "Eh? What are you doing?"

"Nate, have you thought of having a girlfriend?" This causes him to fall backwards in shock.

"Eh?! Where'd that come from?!" Rosa smiles again and leans down to him.

"Just curious, because I've thought of us having a future together." Her words bring a rise in his throat. "Despite how I talk to you, I do like you Nate." Nate continues to stare at her, his voice caught in his throat. Rosa smirks a bit before helping him up. "You think about that for a moment while you have your gym battle."

They come to the roller coaster gym building. Nate, without thinking, enters inside. There they find Elesa watching the roller coasters going by. She turns around, holding her son Tatsuo in her arms, and says, "Oh, you're a little early."

"I'm ready to receive my badge," says Nate with confidence before raising his first ball.

"I'm actually surprised you came here. The new gym is just east of here." Nate and Rosa look at eachother confused. "But, if you're really prepared then I'll accept."

"Alright!" Nate grins and moves away from Rosa. 'I've been on a roll lately! I'll show Rosa how strong I am and then she'll do more than just like me!' "Let's go!"

"Then I'll face you with everything I have. We'll see who sparkles the brightest!" Elesa raises a Pokeball and tosses it. Out from it pops Leangle the Galvantula. "This will be a two on two battle."

"Go, Jet!" The gray protagonist sends out Braviary. "Alright, time to go to work!"

Jet scowls and turns away. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Um, I don't think it's a good idea to send him out!" Rosa tells Nate.

Leangle chirps a bit at Jet, who gains his attention. The bird flaps his wings and caws, ready to battle now. "Leangle, Electro Web!"

The tarantula releases electrified webbing at the eagle, who flies high to avoid it. But since they're in a roller coaster there isn't much room for him to fly to. "Jet, use Aerial Ace!"

Jet comes soaring down at the spider and strikes from above. "Bounce it back!"

The spider forms a web and uses it to block, Jet getting electrocuted harshly. Leangle then forms a ball of electricity and fires it at Jet. "Electroball!"

The attack fries Jet, who falls unconscious. "Jet!"

"Electric attacks are super effective against Flying Pokemon. You don't know much about Pokemon types," says Elesa before crossing her arms.

"Wait, what?"

"I told you not to use him." Rosa facepalms herself.

Nate retrieves his Pokemon and sighs. "I can't believe I flopped like that...I choose you, Takeru!"

Nate's fire type Takeru comes out. "It looks like a bug so this should work! Takeru, Nitro Charge!"

Takeru charges in and bashes the spider aside, making a successful hit. "Now, Ember!"

"Electro Web!" Netting shoot up to the ceiling and Leangle climbs up it. "Now, Signal Beam!"

Takeru gets knocked back by the rainbow beam, rolling into a track. "Electroball!"

"Dodge and use Nitro Charge!" Takeru ignites himself and dodges the attack before charging up at the spider.

"Electro Ball!" Takeru plows through the ball of electricity and bashes into Leangle, sending him crashing into the ground. He faints.

"Alright, Takeru!" The pig jumps up and down with a grin, before falling to one knee. "Wow. That Pokemon was strong."

"Return. I can see you're strong, like Hilbert was back when we first battled...But now I'll go serious. Eelektross!" A blue eel comes out and slithers before Takeru.

"Eel-what?" Nate takes out his Pokedex and scans it. "Eelektross, the EleFish Pokémon; They crawl out of the ocean using their arms and will attack prey on shore to immediately drag it into the ocean."

"Eelektross, Crush Claw!" The eel flies in and claws at Takeru.

"Grab them and use Ember close up!" Takeru grabs the claws, the aims slipping out through to slash Takeru in the face. "Takeru!"

"That's not how you grab eels. Thunder Fang!" Eelektross bites down on Takeru's left shoulder, releasing an electric shock that courses throughout his body.

Takeru falls backwards, sparking with electricity. "Takeru, no..."

"Acid." Eelektross upchucks acid at Takeru, who rolls out of the way.

"Takeru...I surrender." Rosa and Elesa look at Nate in shock. He holds up his Pokeball and retrieves Takeru, a look of defeat rising on his face. "I can't defeat you now, but I will eventually."

Nate walks out of the building. Rosa watches him go with shock. "He accepted defeat, instead of letting his Pokemon get hurt even more...he really is growing stronger."

"I will await your return tomorrow morning in the real gym," says Elesa before lifting up her baby. Rosa follows after her. "He reminds me a little of Hilbert, doesn't he Tatsuo?"

Tatsuo coos and squeals before releasing an electric shock. Elesa comes out slightly unscathed. "Now, now, now, don't do that to mommy. She's not electric proof like your dad." Tatsuo laughs a bit.

Time goes by as Nate lays back in his bedroom at the Pokemon Center. "Jet...Takeru..."

"They'll be okay, but I hope you learned something from all of this," says Rosa to the gray protagonist. She slurps the rest of her cup of noodles and tosses the can in the recycling. "What do you know about Pokemon types?"

"Not much at all."

"Abilities?"

"Nope."

"The proper attacks to use?"

"It's not fine the way it is?" Rosa face palms herself. "What?"

"Search your Pokedex over Pokemon types and learn which type works against which..." Rosa holds her Pokedex to him, and the boy digs out his dex. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." The gray protagonist lies back on his bed and sighs before checking his dex.

Rosa walks into the next available room and lies in bed. "Should I tell him the truth now, or when he finds out about..." With a sad look in her eyes she falls asleep.

Morning...

Nate opens his eyes and yawns, the light of day non-present. He takes a moment to look away, only to stare into the eyes of another person. His eyes widen in shock the moment he realizes it's June.

"...morning..." June says to him.

"...what are you doing here?" Nate asks as calm as he could.

"I'm tired, and there weren't any other rooms." His response brings the gray trainer to think, before he sighs.

"Fine...I'm too tired still to care..." Nate falls back asleep, leaving June to do the same.

Rosa wakes up with a heavy sigh, fixing her hair back into its wheel state. She then enters Nate's room, saying, "Nate, time to wake..."

She pauses seeing her friend in bed with another man. A huge blush rises on her face as she thinks of the implications. "Such forbidden love! I had no idea Nate!"

The gray protagonist opens his eyes hearing Rosa speaking, and turns red at her assumption. "Hey, wait! This isn't what is looks like!"

"You don't have to lie Nate," says Rosa as June wakes up. "I can tell he's a guy, and you were sleeping and making out with him all night-"

"We didn't make out!" he shouts angrily.

"Yeah, we just kissed once." June's words bring Nate to widen his eyes even further.

"DON'T TELL HER THAT!"

Later...

After their little episode Nate and Rosa can be seen walking north of Nimbasa. Rosa looks over to her pale friend and asks, "So you don't-"

"I'm not homosexual!" he retorts.

"But you're homoerotic."

"Huh?"

"Homosexual is when you find those of your own gender sexually attractive and wanna sleep with them. Homoerotic is when you just find them attractive. Face it; you thought he was downright hot!" Rosa begins to laugh at his expense, forcing Nate to move faster. A blue flare releases from his body, causing her to back away a bit.

"Let's just get some training done. Takeru and Jet are healed and I'm ready to make it up to them." With a stern disposition he walks towards the nearest route.

"I have an idea; let's have a training battle." Rosa holds up her own Pokeball. "Go, Serpentera!"

Her grass snake Pokemon Servine comes out and slithers onto her head. Nate takes in a deep breath and takes out his own ball. "Go, Takeru!"

Takeru lands before Nate. Rosa points to Takeru and says, "Coil!"

Servine coils up, but both Nate and Takeru aren't bothered. "Takeru, Ember!"

Servine slithers about and dodges, before coming in to wrap around Takeru. "Slam!" The snake then whips Takeru from around her and into a wall. "Leaf Tornado!"

"Nitro Charge!" After catching himself Takeru charges with flames and jump away from the leaves. Takeru then rushes forward at Serpentera, who slithers around Takeru. 'Why is Serpentera so much stronger?'

"Coil increases a Pokemon's attack, defense and accuracy. You'll need more than just increased speed to catch her!" Serpentera roams around Takeru, confusing him. "Leaf Tornado!"

"Nitro Charge!" Takeru flares up just as the leaves collide with him, before dodging by jumping in the air.

"Now, Slam!" Serpentera comes in just as Takeru is about to land to coil around him.

"...gotcha. Takeru, spin around!" Takeru whirls around, causing Serpentera to slip and fall off. "Now, Arm Thrust!"

Takeru comes in and rapidly pushes Serpentera back with powered palm thrusts. "Finish up with Ember!"

He then follows up with a fireball that blasts Serpentera back. Rosa looks on with amazement at Takeru's nimble move. "How?"

"I figured even with Nitro Charge increasing his speed he's still too slow to move properly, so instead of focusing on going faster I've focused on Takeru countering instead." Rosa smiles hearing Nate's logic.

"I see. Then I guess you're on your way to bigger heights after all," says Rosa before she retrieves Serpentera. "Just remember that before you battle with Elesa. Your Pokemon could never match hers in speed."

"Thanks, I will." With his words he continues towards the Nimbasa gym. Rosa however comes up and cups his cheeks, before planting a soft kiss to his lips. While shocked at first he returns it, both trainers feeling warmth inside, and together they part. "Wow...that was the best kiss I ever had..." 'Or was it?'

Bun hair smirks knowing he meant June. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing! I'm totally straight!" He forces another kiss on her and walks off. "Let's go, Takeru!"

Takeru follows after Nate, staring at him with a lecherous snicker. "...what?"

Rosa watches as he leaves, giving a heavy sigh. "I could feel it...I still can't tell him, but why?"

Nate approaches the true gym and enters, where he sees the whole gym is a long catwalk. He sees Elesa standing at the far end. "I'm here to challenge the gym."

The crowd cheers for Elesa as she walks across the stage. As lights flash Elesa looks back at a Beauty holding her child Tatsuo, before looking down upon Nate. With Takeru by his side he walks across the boardwalk towards Elesa. "Hello there, dear Nate. It's so nice to have you return; welcome to my main stage!"

"I'm back to challenge you. This will finish with one on one, right?" asks Nate before he looks to the side at his partner Takeru.

"Of course." She holds a hand out to him. "My beloved Pokemon and your Pokemon shall compete-" As she speaks Takeru steps forward and breathes fire. "-to see whose shine truly is the brightest!"

She tosses her fur coat off to the side and stares with a smile at Nate. "I choose you, Eelektross!"

Her Pokemon comes out to the field, causing Nate and Takeru to scowl. "Let's go, Takeru! Nitro Charge!"

Takeru rushes forward to bash into Eelektross, who levitates and wiggles out of the way. "Crush Claw!"

"Dodge and use Ember!" Takeru jumps out of the way of incoming claws to release balls of fire upon the eel. It slithers in the air to dodge the attacks.

"Thunder Fang!" Eelektross slithers in and tries to bite Takeru. He raises his hands and grabs the eel, making a spin as he slips through so the eel slams into a wall.

"Now, hit him with Ember!"

"Acid!" The two attacks collide, causing an explosion that gets the crowd cheering.

'Alright, remember the move...' Takeru prepares himself for Eelektross' move. Nate does so as well, a blue flare of aura releasing from his body.

"Crush Claw!" The eel slithers through the air at Takeru.

"Now!" Takeru spins and causes the eel to miss him. He then grabs hold of Eelektross' tail and spins, swinging it around before letting it go in the air. "Ember!"

Takeru releases a fireball at the eel, blasting it into the ceiling. "Nitro Charge!" He then follows up with a flaming charge that causes an explosion.

The pig comes down to land, but Eelektross comes after him with a bite, using its levitating ability to keep them afloat. "Thunder Fang!" Said bite sends a pulse of one hundred thousand volts through his body that sends him to the ground.

"Takeru, use Nitro Charge and hit it into the ground!" Takeru charges himself up in flames, but instead of using Nitro Charge Takeru crashes into the ground with Eelektross underneath. Smoke gathers from the collision, and up rises Takeru and Eelektross. They stare at one another for a few seconds, before the electric type faints.

Elesa looks on with a shocked expression on her face, before the judge says with approval, "Eelektross is unable to battle. The winner is Nate Hakumei of Aspertia." The crowd cheers for his victory, and his face appears on the screen behind her.

After taking a moment to let it all sink in, Elesa smiles after seeing Takeru and Nate jump up with a victorious attitude. "You shocked me through and through, almost melting my heart. Although you're still not on his level, you were great to catch up and win."

"Wow, thanks." They retrieve their Pokemon, and the crowd goes up with cheers.

"Your fighting style has swept me off my feet. Allow me to present this badge." Elesa hands over her badge to Nate, who places it inside his badge case. "Now you're halfway to a full eight."

"Thanks Elesa." Nate then bows before walking off.

"Wait!" Elesa reaches out to him, as a beauty walks up to her with Tatsuo. "I...I need a favor from you...are you looking for Hilbert?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah I am. I figured I should after all," says Nate before crossing his arms over his chest. "He is family."

"...thank you...I've been wanting to find him for years, but he's been missing...I couldn't abandon my duties, but I miss him so much...I love him," mutters Elesa while holding her heart. "Please, find him for me."

Nate looks into her eyes to see the desperation in them, and sighs. "I'll look for him."

"Thank you...I knew I could count on another aura guardian," says Elesa as he leaves.

"...huh?"

"I'll explain later. Let's cat walk." Elesa takes his arm and strolls down the catwalk with him. He goes along with it and they stroll down in style.

Later...

"Aura guardian?" asks Nate while enjoying a cup of lemon tea. He and Elesa are outside of a cafe, her son Tatsuo in her lap clinging like static.

"Hilbert and I have a friend called Lucas, who is an aura user like yourself. I don't know why, but when I saw your flare blue I realized you were one of them...I thought you knew..." she tells him as he sips his tea.

"I guess not...so I can use powers...that's good to know..." Nate raises his hand and tries to summon power. It fails, but he doesn't look discouraged. "Oh well. I gotta tell Rosa and Hugh when we meet up. Thanks for the tea!"

Nate drinks the rest of it and heads off for the top west route. "Good luck, Nate...please..." Elesa looks down at her clingy baby, lifting him up and caressing him in her arms. "Hilbert!"

Nate continues to walk north, until reaching the stadiums. There he finds Team Plasma standing before Hugh. "Hugh? Team Plasma? Oh no..."

"Alright, what the hell are you guys doing here?" asks Hugh in a threatening voice.

The grunts look at one another before one ends up saying, "Nothing. We're just standing here."

"What do you want?" another asks.

"I don't think I can forgive Pokemon thieves like you, so get ready. You're about to feel my rage." Hugh darts his eyes at them hatefully.

"Really? You must be mistaking us for losers," says the third guy. "Let's take this guy down!"

"Hugh!" Nate shouts as he manages to join up with his friend. "Stop getting into trouble with these guys!"

"Alright, back me up Nate!" Hugh says before he takes out a ball. He sighs before taking out Jet's ball.

...

Hilbert walks out of the hospital with a sigh. "Thanks Cheryl. I'll let you know if I see him again."

"No problem, Black," says the green beauty before she moves along to let him leave.

Hilbert dashes down the road, electricity releasing from his legs to propel him faster. As he runs he notices the area becoming cold. "Why is it freezing?"

"It's him!" Zekrom says in his head, and Hilbert stops prepared to face the threat.

Kyurem as Lucas walks towards Hilbert. "Hello. Nice of you to leave."

"Kyurem... I'm not going to give up my life. Like I said, there are people waiting for me," says Hilbert to the ice dragon.

"Hilbert, no...Zekrom...I'm here to make a deal with you; you will give yourself up to me," he begins before picking his teeth of meat and blood. "or...I will be forced to kill your family."

"What?!" Fear begins to rise up in his heart.

"Your family Elesa and Skyla, will be frozen solid and shattered into frost unless you give yourself over to me." Kyurem walks away before vanishing in an icy mist.

Hilbert falls backwards on his behind. "No...Elesa...Skyla..."

...

"Ryoku, Force Palm!" Ryoku pushes Watchog into a tree, knocking it out.

"What's the big deal?! This pokemon is weak!" mumbles the female grunt as she runs away.

"This is starting to turn out like two years ago with that Hilbert jerk!" The grunts begin to run away.

"You won, so we'll tell you this; we of Plasma have a weapon capable of destroying the entire Unova region. But we're also looking for something to fully utilize it." They then run away.

"A weapon? What do they mean by that?" asks Nate with a curious look on his face. He then turns to Hugh, who begins to walk away, and asks, "Wait, why were you so angry at him? What's going on?"

"...five years ago, Team Plasma stole my little sister's Purrloin..." Nate's eyes widen at that revelation. "It was a gift from grandpa...back then I was weak so I couldn't do anything, but now...I will get Purrloin back!"

Nate looks down feeling sorry for him, before he states, "Nate, go fill the Pokedex with me and Rosa and get stronger. I'll be counting on you from here on out to back me us, because we're friends."

"...right, of course." Nate finds some resolve in himself to agree, and Hugh dashes off.

Nate sighs as he walks towards the exit, not worried about his Pokemon being too injured to fight seeing as they did so well against Plasma. He passes through the gate to the other side, taking his leisurely time as he does.

When he exits the gateway he notes street performers. "Ah...time to go."

"Hey, wait up Nate!" Nate turns around to see Bianca coming his way. She reaches him, but trips on an edge and crashes on top of him. Speaking of which her lips do the same, on top of his. They blush before remaining frozen for a while, and Nate finally stands the two of them up before parting.

Before he could say anything she grabs his shirt collars and kisses him again. Her chest presses up against his, causing a tightness in his pants to rise. Without thinking he returns the kiss, and for a while they stay like this until parting. "Wow...I didn't expect that."

"I'm sorry...I've...I've always wanted to do that..." Bianca tells him before removing her body off of his. "I was hoping sometime...we could go out. Is that okay?"

Nate begins to sputter a bit, before turning around and hiding his rising boner with his jacket. He finally manages to regain his manner of speech before saying, "Uh, sure...someday soon."

"Th-Thanks..." Bianca approaches Nate and hands him something. "Here. This is the Hidden Machine for Fly. With this flying monsters you own can use Fly."

"Wow, thanks," says Nate as he picks up the disk. "I can use this with Jet, as soon as he gains my respect."

"Really? A Pokemon is disobeying your directions?" Bianca looks at Nate questionably; he is a beginning trainer still so that may be a good reason why. "Well, I think you should try and reason with your Pokemon. Talk to Jet and find out what's important."

"Huh..."

"Anyway, good luck." She leans in and pecks him once more, leaving a lasting taste in his lips. "My dear Nate..." Bianca takes off.

Nate remains frozen looking at her leave. He manages to break out with a goofy, blushing smile while laughing. "Bianca likes me...Rosa likes me too. They're both pretty and they like kissing me..." His dazed eyes and smile grow even more, until he gains a sudden realization. "Wait...they both like me...THEY BOTH LIKE ME!"

Crazed, he begins running about screaming. That's until he bumps into a biker, knocking him off his hog. "Hey!"

Nate comes to and stares at the guy. "Oh, my bad. I'm having a problem."

"Oh, you got a problem alright!" The biker dismounts his vehicle and lifts up Nate. "And sorry ain't gonna solve it this time!"

"So what will?"

"Triple Battle!" The guy drops Nate, who stares up at him. "I see you have no idea what I'm talking about. Triple Battle is when we send out three Pokemon at a time."

"...Huh?"

"I'm a heartbreaker, Charles. I wanted to get the attention of a girl I like so I mastered a new style of battling. Now show you're a man!" Charles holds up three balls and enlarges them.

Nate grins as he stands up. "Got it. Let's go!" He sends out his three Pokemon: Jet, Ryoku and Takeru.

Charles sends out Sigilyph, Tirtouga and Archen. "Tirtouga, Aqua Jet!"

The tortoise flies in at Takeru. "Takeru, Arm Thrust to stop it! Jet, dive bomb its belly with Aerial Ace!"

Takeru manages to stop Tirtouga at that moment. Jet turns away as the battle continues, taking a nap. "...damn it..."

"Can't get your Pokemon to listen huh? Then this should wake it up! Sigilyph, Psybeam!" The Nazca windchime releases a psionic beam at the eagle, who gets knocked to the ground and abruptly woken.

Jet shakes his head and glares at Sigilyph. Nate takes out his Pokedex and scans them. "Sigilyph, the Avianoid Pokémon; Sigilyph keeps enemies from invading its territory with its Psychic powers and was the guardian of ancient cities long ago. Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokemon; About 100 million years ago, these Pokémon swam in oceans. It is thought they also went on land to attack prey. Archen, the First Bird Pokemon; Said to be an ancestor of bird Pokémon, they were unable to fly and moved about by hopping from one branch to another."

"Archen, Peck attack!" Archen lands on top of Ryoku and begins rapidly pecking his head. Ryoku runs about trying to get it off.

"Crap. Jet, I know you and I may have our differences, but you like to fight right?" Jet turns back to Nate, as if understanding his words. "Then let's work together so we can fight. I'll even give you a better name later."

Taking that incentive, Jet flies in at Sigilyph. "Air Cutter!"

A fierce wind blows Jet away into the ground. "Use Hone Claws and take flight!"

Jet sharpens his claws on the ground, before turning to face Sigilyph. Takeru grabs hold of Tirtouga. "Scald!" The tortoise fires hot water into the pig's face, causing him to back away in pain.

"Takeru, Ryoku, switch partners!" Ryoku grabs Archen and tosses him at Takeru. "Ember!"

The pig fires at the bird, causing it to get burned. "Jet, Aerial Ace! Takeru, use that move that replaced Nitro Charge! Ryoku, Bone Rush!"

Following his orders, the three Pokemon go to work. Takeru leaps into the air, gathering flames around his body, and crashes on top of Archen. Jet circles around Sigilyph, who attempts to use Psybeam only to miss. Ryoku then sneaks in at Tirtouga and strikes rapidly with an energy bone.

Tirtouga and Archen faint, but Sigilyph is a different story. "Reflect!"

A barrier forms around the Nazca wind chime, blocking Aerial Ace. But Nate isn't having anything about it. "It blocks attacks? Then I'll just try harder! Heat Crash! Force Palm! Crush Claw!"

The three attacks make contact with Sigilyph's reflecting barrier, managing to break through and knock Sigilyph to the ground. Finally, it faints and the crowd cheers.

Charles retrieves his Pokemon. "I see it needs more polishing. I'm a heartbreaker, Charles."

"...uh huh..." Nate looks to the side with a confused look. He retrieves his Pokemon as well. 'Why does he keep saying that?'

The biker takes off, leaving Nate to go. The people watching look on in shock. "That guy was amazing."

"He's strong!"

"Triple Battles are awesome!" These are just some of the things the witnesses say as they leave.

With his determination back Nate sees a bridge up ahead. Thinking back on the battle Nate walks across it. As he does the Xtransceiver he found turns on in audible mode. "Uh, hello?"

"Hey, Nate right?" asks the voice on the other end. "It's me, Yancy."

"Oh yeah, how's it going? We call eachother this often we might as well be dating...wait, you are a girl right?" That last sentence comes out with a hint of seriousness, because he has been fooled before.

"Oh, so you're a boy. It is a little annoying we can't see each other though. But like you thought, I am a girl." Nate moves from the device and gives a sigh of relief. "Oh crap, my colleague is calling me. I have to get back to work. Bye Nate!"

"Sure thing!" She hangs up and he moves forward.

Nate sighs as he walks. "She sounds cute...wait, focus! Rosa and Bianca like you. What am I gonna do?!"

He continues to walk across the bridge, rambling about his situation and who he should be with. "Bianca's cute and older, but Rosa and I have history and she's cute too! Rosa has brown hair but Bianca has green eyes... Bianca has soft skin but Rosa's chest is bigger...Rosa is a strong trainer but Bianca doesn't treat me like I'm less than she is...WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!"

Everyone else on the bridge looks back at Nate after his sudden outburst. He then continues across the Driftwell Drawbridge to the other side. As he does he notices the unicorn from before. "Ah!"

He watches it leave towards Driftwell like him. "There!" Nate chases after the unicorn towards Driftwell. The moment he reaches the other side he spots Team Plasma, one in light blue and the other black. "Plasma?"

"Oh, come on! Let's have fun stealing Pokemon together like before!" says the grunt in black.

"No! I've learned the hard way that stealing from others is the wrong thing to do; almost two years!" retorts the other.

"Oh, pulease!" The darker member pushes his friend into the railing. "People don't understand our just cause! It's too late to be goody goody two-shoes! We were part of a world dominating organization; even if you've left people still see you as Plasma. You can't change who you are."

"Yes I can!" she replies angrily. "N-sama will be angry!"

"N?! You mean that traitor who worked with the man that brought upon our downfall?!" The grunt then pulls down her hood to reveal a redden face full of beatings. "He's gone! He disappeared when we needed him the most!"

The grunt comes in to punch her, but Nate stands in the way and kicks the grunt to the side. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Didn't your parents tell you not to hurt girls?" Nate tells him.

"Hold the damn frog legs!" shouts Hugh as he enters the scene, pushing the black Plasma to the padded ground. "Start talking you piece of shit trash!"

"You son of a...wait, I can't cause any trouble." He then runs away, although Hugh gives chase.

The female ex-member stands back up. "T-Thank you. We used to be friends back two years ago, but ever since our failure the first time things have changed. Now Plasma has split into two groups: the members that follow N-sama and want to save Pokemon, and the members that follow Ghetsis for world domination."

"So that's what's going on. But where are the others?" asks Nate curiously.

"The house on the hill just above the gym is our headquarters," says the grunt before walking away.

Nate looks up at the hill, before staring at the sea. "Where's that unicorn?" Glancing out at the ocean he sighs when there's no sign of it. With nothing else to do Nate goes towards the Pokemon Center.

Elsewhere...

"Serpentera, Leaf Blade!" Servine slithers in and slashes at Leangle from the side with its green, glowing tail.

"Jump onto the net for better surveillance and use Signal Beam!" The tarantula leaps on top of an electro net and fires at the slithering serpent upon Elesa's command.

Back to Action...

After eating and getting his Pokemon healed Nate leaves the center. "I think Geki is better off in the PC with Juniper...now, for that place Plasma is in."

The gray protagonist dashes forward to the staircase going up the hill to reach the mansion. There he sees the Ex-Plasma with an older man. She points to Nate. "It's him! That's the person I told you about."

"Is that so?" The man approaches Nate. "You're the one who's interested in Plasma right?"

"...yes. Who are you?" Nate asks while looking up at him.

"I am Rood. If you want to know more then I will have to appropriate your strength with a Pokemon battle." Rood holds up a Pokeball.

"Good for me!" Nate holds up a Great Ball and sends out Jet. "Ready for another battle Jet?"

Jet turns to Nate with a scowl. "...man?" Jet shakes his head no. "...Icarus." This is followed with another no. "...Hayato?" The eagle nods.

"Very well; I choose you, Swoobat!" A bat with a heart for a nose appears before Rood.

Nate takes out his Pokedex and scans. "Swoobat, the Courting Pokemon; Anyone who comes into contact with the ultrasonic waves emitted by a courting male experiences a positive mood shift. It emits sound waves of various frequencies from its nose including some powerful enough to destroy rocks."

"That's good to know. Hayato, Hone Claws!" Hayato prepares himself by sharpening his talons.

"Heart Stamp!" Swoobat comes in and kisses Hayato in the face, leaving a glowing red heart behind. The eagle quickly rubs off the kiss, leaving it open to a tail whip.

"Hayato, take flight and use Aerial Ace!" The eagle soars into the skies high above the bat.

"Air Cutter!" Swoobat flaps his wings to release slicing wind, but Hayato dodges rather easily. He then comes down like a missile, striking Swoobat in the back. "Once more, Air Cutter!"

"Crush Claw!" Hayato flies away to avoid the wind as red energy forms around his talons. The eagle eventually gets caught and slashed by the fierce wind. "Hayato!"

Despite this it continues towards Swoobat and carves into the bat like a Christmas turkey. Swoobat falls to the ground and the gray protagonist gives a sigh of relief. "Phew."

"Impressive. You seem to be able to draw out the potential of your Pokemon," says Rood before retrieving his Pokemon. "I apologize for testing you. Being former members of Team Plasma, we must deal with a lot… "

"I can tell. You guys don't seem to be like them at all," says Nate as he looks to them.

"Nate!" shouts Hugh as he comes to join his friend. "That asshole got away."

"Who? ...Oh, him." Nate turns to Hugh before gesturing to Rood. "This is Rood. He's-"

"I might as well explain it inside. Come inside," says the old man before he enters the mansion. The grunt and Nate follow after, before Hugh does so. Inside they see other ex-Plasma members with Pokemon, one of them being a Zorua. "Like I said before, I am Rood of Ex-Plasma."

"And what makes you different from the Plasma now?" Hugh glares at the older man.

"More accurately, we're former members of Team Plasma. Because of the incident two years ago, we started taking care of the Pokémon that were separated from their Trainers as a way to atone for our misdeeds. And you are?" Rood looks to the two boys.

"I'm Nate Hakumei, and this is Hugh. We're trainers from Aspertia who want to stop Team Plasma, and Hugh has a stronger reason to do so." Nate points to his friend to his left.

"You guys stole a Purrloin that belonged to my sister back five years ago," Hugh tells them. "I was the pathetic trainer who couldn't stop you. While you claimed to be separating Pokemon from humans you were petty thieves!"

"I see..." Rood makes a bow. "I apologize. Back five years ago Plasma was a secret organization keeping to the shadows as Rocket and Galactic caused problems overseas. Aspertia was originally our base of operations before we rose higher."

"I don't want to hear explanations! Do you have my sister's Pokemon?!"

"Unfortunately we don't. It must still be under Neo Plasma's employment." Rood makes a heavy sigh. "I know that saying sorry now doesn't help, but you can't move forward unless you admit your mistakes and make up for them."

"Enough!" Hugh turns to Nate angrily. "I'm going to the gym and defeat the leader. When I do I'll become strong enough and be able to face Neo Plasma."

He then leaves out the mansion. "Tell Rosa that too when you see her."

Once Hugh leaves, Rood takes a moment of silence before saying, "Plasma made people like him suffer...how foolish we were..."

"I feel something..." speaks a voice behind Rood. Nate looks ahead and sees a beautiful woman with pink hair beside a twin with blonde hair. The pink haired woman approaches Nate, who backs away with a rising blush. "I sense familiar energy from you...the kind that belonged to someone I saw."

"You do?" Nate looks at her questionably.

The blond touches Nate and says, "He's an Aura User."

"Eh? You know that?" asks Nate in shock.

"How rare. Aura users are hard to find nowadays. The last one I've met was the boy who befriended Plasma's destroyer Hilbert," Rood says before he thinks back to Lucas. "Concordia and Anthea's instincts are never off."

"This is the second time today I heard that term, and it wasn't fully explained to be back then," Nate tells him as Anthea backs away from him. "I wish I asked Hilbert more about his adventure."

"You know him?" asks Concordia curiously.

"Yup. We're cousins." His answer brings a smile to Anthea. "I haven't heard from him in a while though."

"That's a shame," Anthea complains. "I was hoping to meet him again. It's not every day N makes friends, nor do I desire to meet with them so much."

"Anthea, don't be so amorous. He's already in the arms of others." Concordia's words bring her sister to scowl.

"As you can see Nate, I cannot help you. But knowing a little of you, I would like to ask if you're capable of doing a favor." Rood bends down to an approaching Zorua. He then picks it up, asking, "Would you like to take care of this Zorua?"

"Huh? Why-"

"Normally I wouldn't, but knowing you plan to stop Plasma and that you're an Aura User I would like to ask this of you." Nate looks down at the black fox.

"...okay. I was hoping to add more members to my team." With a smile Rood retrieves Zorua inside and hands him over to Nate. "I've got Zorua!"

"That Pokemon was a child of our lord N's Zoroark," Concordia remarks.

"My lord N is a wonderful person who has the power to understand the hearts of Pokémon." Anthea makes a sigh. "But still, he has much to learn about understanding the hearts of people... I hope he will develop this skill while he travels with the legendary Pokémon to atone for the trouble he caused in Unova as the king of Team Plasma."

"Thanks for telling me." Nate makes a respective bow and walks away while carrying Zorua's ball. He exits the mansion and goes towards the Pokemon Center. As he does he notices the skies are getting dark. "Night time already?"

On his way he hears a weird voice. The gray protagonist turns into the direction of the voice, where he sees the unicorn in the waters. "It's the unicorn!"

Nate approaches the Pokemon and holds out his Pokedex. "Keldeo, the Colt Pokemon; It crosses the world, running over the surfaces of oceans and rivers. It appears at scenic waterfronts. When it is resolute, its body fills with power and it becomes swifter. Its jumps are then too fast to follow."

Keldeo looks up at Nate, who says, "I wonder how you got here..."

"I ran over the surface, duh!" says Keldeo in his mind.

Nate backs away in shock. "Whoa! You can talk?!"

"Eh?! You can hear me?! Are you an empath?"

* * *

Manabu: That ends this chapter. What's next?

Takeshi: Keldeo huh?

Manabu: Well anyway, Nate and Keldeo decide to team up. His next match is against Clay in the gym before he goes off to the World Tournament. Then a ship battle and a trip to Chargestone Cave before meeting another familiar woman with a child.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Gray Adventure Part 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

... Time skip

Takeshi: Hello all. We bring to you the next chapter to the Gray Adventure Part 2.

Manabu: Wine?

Takeshi: ... Sure. *begins to drink* There are allot of ladies men in this story.

Manabu: Are you talking about the Aura Guardians, because they're the only ones here with that talent... And Hilbert. Just hope you don't show up.

_**Journal Entry 6: Enter The Guardian**_

* * *

Keldeo looks up at Nate, who says, "I wonder how you got here..."

"I ran over the surface, duh!" says Keldeo in his mind.

Nate backs away in shock. "Whoa! You can talk?!"

"Eh?! You can hear me?! Are you an empath?" Keldeo asks him, backing up before slipping.

"Well... I'm an Aura user apparently. Is that anything?" Keldeo looks at Nate, staring at his form from top to bottom.

"I guess..."

"Why have I been seeing you since Castelia?"

"That's... Huh? I've just been traveling and training. I need it so I can become one of the Sacred Swordsmen, the Swords of Justice!" Keldeo raises his horn high in the air. "I'm also on a mission to find the source of the ice all around us."

"Oh... That's good for you. Wanna join me on my adventure?" Nate holds his hand out to the little unicorn.

"Eh? Didn't I just say I have an important mission?"

"Oh, okay. I guess I won't need your help." Nate walks off, leaving Keldeo alone.

Keldeo prepares to leave, before taking a moment to think. "Wait a minute... Did you say I'm not needed?"

"Yeah."

"Get back here! I am plenty needed!" Keldeo shouts at him, running over to Nate. He stares back at the Pokemon in shock. "I'm the next in line to become one of the next Sword of Justice! You should be begging to catch me!"

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda..." Nate says to him.

"That's it; I'm coming with you!" He sighs with a secret smirk before taking out a Premiere ball. With it Nate pokes Keldeo with it and captures the little guy. Inside, Keldeo stops to think. "...Wait a second... Ah, damn it!"

"I can't believe he let himself get captured." Nate chuckles a bit before walking off with his new Pokemon.

As he does he begins to ponder what to do next. "Let's see... I have to battle against the gym leader... I should probably train a bit."

As he walks he notices his Xtransceiver is going off. He turns it on, and the girl from the phone answers. "Hi Nate! It's me, Yancy."

"Yo. How's it going?"

"I have some free time, so I wanted to check up on you."

"What are you, my mom?" He hears her laughing on the other end.

"Well you should talk to me once in a while; how else can we be friends?"

"That's true... Anyway, I was about to challenge the gym leader of Driftveil."

"Oh, that's that Clay guy; he's the miner king and a ground expert. You'd have to use Grass or Water types to fight back at him." Her words bring a bit of inspiration to Nate, who remembers that he doesn't know what types would be water.

"...What would be a good water type?"

"Eh? You don't have any? Well, good luck then." He drops his head in disappointment. "Oh, I gotta go. Hope to hear from you again Nate."

She then hangs up, and Nate sighs. "I wonder... What does she do for a living?"

...

Hilbert approaches a building, and spots Skyla and Elesa inside chatting through the window. He prepares to enter, but stops with hesitation. "Elesa, Skyla... I'm sorry. I can't let you two get hurt... I can't even say goodbye."

He turns around and holds his face, finding tears swelling up in his eyes. He closes his eyes and covers his face before walking away further from the building. On the way he sees someone just up ahead, this person being Cheryl. "You're not gonna tell them?"

"I can't. I can't bring myself to say it." Hilbert runs off away from Cheryl.

"Wait, Hilbert!" Cheryl watches as he runs off. "He's too sensitive..."

He continues until reaching the Pokemon center. His tears continue to fall, before he notices a chilling presence. Approaching Hilbert from the shadows is Kyurem. "Have you made your decision?"

With a pause, Hilbert says, "Yeah."

"Then give me your life." He raises his hand and approaches the boy. But before he could Cheryl comes running in. The ice dragon's eyes widen. "C-Cheryl?"

"Kyurem... Lucas!" Cheryl rushes faster over to him. Without a moment to waste he tosses his arm out and grabs Hilbert, before disappearing in an icy mist. "Wait!"

...

Nate plops down on the bed, staring at the center ceiling. "It's been such a long day... I better wake up early and get a head start."

He closes his eyes and shifts in his sleep, trying to force himself into a dream. As he does, eventually he opens his eyes and wakes up. A blue flare flashes in his eyes before the trainer sits up in his bed, looking around. "What was that?"

He walks to the nearest window, opens it up. Outside he spots a man with a blue fedora holding his hand out. Aura releases from it before he turns his eyes to Nate. Nate prepares to say something, but falls unconscious.

The next day he wakes up, surprised to be in bed. "Huh? Wha-what happened?"

"So, you're up." He falls out of bed in shock hearing another guy's voice.

"Damn it June! I'm not into guys!" Nate shouts the moment he stands, seeing the guy from last night. "Eh? Who are you?"

"I've been following a strong Aura signature in Unova; you were the closest one." He then gestures to the door. "I'll be waiting outside; I need a word with you, Aura user."

Nate's eyes widen hearing him say that. Knowing it'd probably be useless to run away, he dresses himself up and walks out the door, where the blue man awaits. Tense and slightly afraid, he asks, "Who are you?"

"My name is Riley; I am the former champion of Sinnoh, an Aura Guardian, and the highest member of the Aura Council," he tells him. "I can tell you're an Aura user but not an official guardian."

"Wait, what? You're an Aura Guardian too?" he asks in shock.

"When I came to you I figured it would be Lucas, but it turns out to be you." Riley looks into his eyes. "You have a strong aura, but you can't control it. You've no doubt attracted a large amount of girls."

Nate makes a long pause. "Eh?"

"Your aura can drawn in the feelings of those who have some amount of attraction to you. You probably don't realize it, but there may be girls out there who like you uncontrollably." Nate's eyes widen in realization when he comes to an epiphany. Bianca and Rosa like him both because he's been drawing them in. But, if they were then they'd have already have to like him before. "Since you have no former training, how would you like it if I taught you?"

"Taught me? You mean train under you?" Nate backs away, before pausing to think about the possibilities and the results. If he trains under this person he can become stronger; in addition he can make sure no one gets drawn in like the girls. "Alright, I accept."

"Good. It will also help make your Pokemon stronger." Riley adjusts his hat and places a hand on Nate's shoulder. "But if you do I may have to ask for your assistance in a task."

"We'll see." With that they leave the center and head for the north-western route.

After reaching the route Riley stops before a river. "Before we begin, do you know anyone else who possesses aura powers?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I see. Then, I'll teach you the basics." Riley then goes on to training Nate; occasionally they would break for time to relax or food, and return shortly to training; by the end of the day Nate is already getting a better handle of his aura.

Riley stares down at the young trainer, who remains by Mistralton cave attempting to calm himself. "Very good. The more calm you can stay, the longer you can suppress your aura. That way it won't leak out accidentally."

Nate opens his eyes and stands. "Thanks. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else."

"Nate, I have to leave for the moment. Cynthia's probably upset with my disappearance, and I still haven't found Lucas."

"Who?"

"Lucas is another Aura Guardian in training. He's actually the reason I'm here, because he's been kidnapped by Kyurem to trap Hilbert." As Riley mentions Hilbert, Nate's eyes widen.

"Wait, you know my cousin Hilbert?"

This takes him by surprise. "You... You know him? He's your cousin?"

"Yeah. Sorry, but I don't know where he is," he replies, giving a sad look. "I'm actually looking for him too; his wife asked me."

"I guess it wasn't going to be that easy." Riley looks off into the sky. "I'll keep looking for him. Until we meet again."

Nate watches as Riley walks away, before looking down at his hand to see blue energy fuming. "I've attracted Rosa and Bianca... so I better make a decision."

He prepares to leave for the center, until the other Xtransceiver turns on. "Oh, hey Yancy."

...

The next morning Nate heads straight for the Driftveil gym, jogging casually towards it. Along the way he spots someone exiting the gym, and his heart stops when he notes it's Rosa. "Rosa!"

"Ah, Nate." Rosa turns to face him, giving a warm smile. "Good morning. Are you ready for your battle?"

"Yup. When did you show up?" he asks her.

"Just last night. I was hoping to find you here..." she says to him before leaning in to kiss the boy on the lips. Nate returns his own and a make out begins, before he forces himself to stop. "What's wrong?"

"I can't... I can't do this anymore," he tells her. Rosa's eyes widen in shock.

"Is... Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, no! It's just..." Nate bites his bottom lip as he tries to find the words. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can lead you on without letting you, Bianca and Yancy know the truth."

"The truth? Wait, you know?!" Her words bring Nate to stare at her in surprise. "I mean, go on."

Nate looks at her suspiciously, before saying, "Well, I have this power called Aura. It's pretty cool as I can fight like those comic books you be reading, but it comes with a draw back. When I'm with another woman who may like me they become attached with my aura, and fall for me. There's a great chance it happened to you, and Bianca."

Rosa looks away, hiding her guilty expression. "Bianca... She's the one who gave you Tepig... How long has she been..."

"I don't really know... But I can't have you guys be around me without knowing about my secret; it just wouldn't be fair." He takes in a deep breath before sighing depressed. "I hope you understand."

"I'm really... I'm really okay with it." She comes in to give him another kiss, but he holds her back.

"Are you really? You'll be loyal to a guy who will have plenty of options constantly available to you, and you may have to do things you're forced to do!"

"Like I said, it's okay!" she tells him, more stern this time. "I'm fine taking on whatever baggage you'll bring with you; it's my fault this happened anyway."

"What?" As she says that last line to herself he couldn't hear properly, but it sounds important.

"Nothing. Regardless, I'll stay with you." She leans in and gives him that kiss once more, and he gladly accepts. He's so happy she accepts him and his problem.

A flare of feelings go off inside of his heart, and he brings her in closer cupping Rosa's behind to give a tight squeeze. Their kiss becomes more intense, so much so they end up pulling out. Rosa's flushed face moves in closer to rest on his chest. "You're so good at that..."

"Wow..." he mumbles as his mind returns. Before he could compliment her lips he remembers his reason for going to the gym. "Oh right, the gym!"

"Good luck in there, my dear Nate," she mutters before releasing him so he can go inside. Her heart flutters a bit thinking about him. '_That's right. I can get used to this._'

As he enters the gym, his minds are still caught on Rosa. He's even beginning to think about her naked. He approaches the counter lady and asks, "Can you lead me to the gym leader?"

"He's at the bottom floor, but first you might want to take care of that," she says, pointing down at his crouch.

Looking down he notices his erection and quickly bends down to hide it. "How lame!"

Rosa sighs and facepalms herself. Laughing, the girl on the counter says, "Go take the elevator down and look for Clay."

"Thanks," he says before thinking cold thoughts to get rid of his tightened pants. Soon he stands tall and heads towards the elevator to go down. Rosa follows after him.

The elevator goes down into the basement floor where they see rail carts ready for them. "Huh?"

"I did this before. Follow me." Bun hair leads Nate through the maze-like escalators, occasionally lighting their way with hanging lights. Eventually they come before Clay's platform.

"Yo! Another challenger; kept me waitin', didn't ya?" Clay states with a grin. "Rosa..."

"I'm here to challenge you, Nate of Aspertia."

"Ah! So yer from Rosa here's place! A boyfriend I susposin'?" Nate and Rosa blush in response to that, and he ends up laughing at their expense.

"Let's go!" he shouts, ignoring Clay's comment.

"This'll be a mano-e-mano matchup, boy! Ready?!" Clay sends out his Pokemon, the iconic Excadrill.

"Alright...What to choose..." Before he could make his choice Keldeo pops out. "Geh!"

"I gotta get out of there once in a while!" Keldeo tells him.

"Keldeo, I didn't send you out yet," Nate tells the unicorn.

"Don't care!" He turns away with a huff.

"What Pokemon is that?" Clay questions looking at it.

"It's a Keldeo, a Legendary Pokemon apparently," Rosa says to answer Clay. Her words take the boys by surprise however. "What?"

"How did you know his name was Keldeo?" asks Nate.

"Let the match begin!" Excadrill prepares himself.

"Oh well. Are you strong against him?" Nate asks his Pokemon.

"Yup! This guy won't stand a chance!" Keldeo responds before aiming his horn. "Alright...What are my attacks again?"

Nate almost falls backwards while she narrows her eyes. Nate then looks up Keldeo's moves in the dex. "Let's see... Keldeo, Aqua Jet!"'

"Aqua Jet!" The unicorn shoots out at the drill mole.

"Grab him with Metal Claw and divert it away!" Excadrill grabs Keldeo and tosses him in the air. "Now, follow up!"

"Let's see... Bubblebeam!" Keldeo fires powerful bubbles at the mole, sending him crashing into the ground in pain. "It was effective?"

"Water moves are strong against Ground Pokemon," Rosa informs him. "You're such an idiot for not knowing that."

"Shut up! Use Bubblebeam again!" Keldeo fires at the mole.

"Dig!" Excadrill fires into the earth to avoid the bubbles.

"Aw man, he's underground..." Keldeo complains.

"Let's see... What else..." As he looks over the dex Excadrill comes up and strikes Keldeo with its drill arms combined. "Crap, Keldeo!"

"Dang it! What was the name of my secret move? Cobalion taught me so I should remember it!"

Nate stumbles upon an attack in the dex. "I'll try this. Keldeo, Sacred Sword!"

"Oh! That's it!" Keldeo taps his hoove and aims his horn high, brown light illuminating off of him. A blade of blue energy forms around it before he charges in at the mole.

"Metal Claw!" Excadrill blocks the attack and grabs hold of the horn. "Toss him into the dirt!"

"Cancel it and use Bubblebeam!" Keldeo calls off the sword move and batters the mole using his water attack. The bubbles force Excadrill back a few steps.

"Hone Claws and prepare Drill Run!" Excadrill sharpens his claws on the stones around him, before spinning into a drill at Keldeo.

"Counter with Aqua Jet!" Keldeo jets at the attack, but gets knocked aside.

"Bad choice, idiot!"

"You're the idiot!" Nate shouts back at Keldeo.

"Nate, stop arguing and come up with a plan! You can't match Excadrill with brute force alone. Use your head!" Rosa tells him with irritation.

"Use my head..." Nate grits his teeth as he tries to think of a plan.

"Let's use Drill Run once more!" Excadrill flies in at the unicorn.

"Just gotta get around that drill... Use Aqua Jet on that drill mole's side and knock it off balance!" Keldeo flies in covered in water at Excadrill, before curving to knock him in the air. Excadrill comes out of his position. "Now, Sacred Sword!"

Blue light forms around its head in the form of a blade, before he slashes quickly. Nate and Rosa cheer happily seeing the move take great effect. Excadrill falls backwards, blade marks still covering his body. He's down for the count. "Whoa, well look at this; li'l whippersnapper trainers who pack a real punch keep showin' up one after 'nother! Here, take this!"

Clay tosses him the Quake Badge. Nate catches it and grin. "Sweet! I got my new badge!"

"Wit that ya should have atleast 5 badges. Let's go up." He presses a button on the control panel, and the orange elevator goes up to the surface floor.

Nate and Rosa rush off to the center. "Thanks ossan!"

"O-Ossan?!"

Outside Nate and Rosa spot their friend Hugh waiting outside the gym. "Hugh?"

"What brings you here?" asks Rosa curiously, tugging onto her beloved's arm.

"So you both got the badge... My partners are the reason I was able to get that badge..." says the blue haired teen. His eyes narrow angrily seeing their arms entwined. "But I'm sure there's more connecting us than Pokeballs. If that were true Purrloin's feelings will never be what they were."

"Hugh, I really think you should get off of that vendetta of yours," Nate tells him, removing himself from Rosa. "Your sister can't be wanting this, can you?"

"What would you know?!" Nate backs away at his friend's bark. "You will never understand what it feels to have something you care about taken away from you! Not when Rosa is always there for you. If you had a reason to, something precious taken from you..."

"Huh?" The two boys face one another in a stare off. Rosa remains worried while watching them.

Clay comes out seeing them. "Oh, so ya both here... Ya ain't so bad, so I'm gunna show ya somethin'!"

He pushes them forward, and without thinking they go along with it. Hugh even comments, "Why am I doing this? Clay, you haven't forgiven Plasma, have you?"

"Folks always change, whether for better or worse. If ya only go after what ya think is right, ya might end up rejectin' all thoughts and opinions other than yer own. And that's the most dangerous way of thinkin'," explains the gym leader as they continue.

"What's that, giving up?!" Hugh grumbles angrily.

"It's called compromise. Don't be such a kid," Rosa says before pushing him forward.

"Don't give me that! I'm gonna crush Team Plasma! What do you wanna show us anyway?!" Hugh looks around until he sees a large building.

At this moment they're at the most southern reach of Driftveil, right by the port. Clay says, "This is the Pokemon World Tournament. Trainers from all over the world gather on up to see who can deliver a bigger ass kickin'!"

The three trainers take a moment to think about it, before grinning. Hugh says, "I see; some special training before I go after Plasma."

"To see who's the strongest, huh?" says Rosa with intrigue.

"Awesome..." Nate's eyes light up with excitement.

"The first tournament will be between 8 people. The winner gets a set o' feathers and 1,000 Pokedollars," says Clay before he looks about.

"I'll be in this too." Everyone looks to the side to see Cheren. "Especially against the first three trainers I've ever had."

"Cheren!" Rosa remarks seeing him.

Clay makes a chuckle. "Ya know somethin', Cheren. The one who's gotta show everyone what Pokémon battlin' means is you. It's gotta be you, since yer buddy who done stolen Elesa and Skyla's heart dropped off the face of the earth! I'm countin' on the power of youth, 'cause everyone likes up-and-comin' stars! OK! Whenever yer ready, get on over to reception!"

They each enter the building, the interior having great Roman influence. A male receptionist stands between twin staircases. Cheren approaches him and signs in. Hugh turns to his friends, saying, "Let's do it. A plain and simple battle should make me tougher."

"Me too!" Rosa follows after him. Nate does so and joins in the tournament.

Some time passes by as they choose their Pokemon appropriate for battle, and within the hour the tournament goes underway.

After registration Nate enters the wait room, where a line up begins to form on a big screen above them. The first match shows him against Hugh. "Well, that was quick."

Hugh remains silent before heading out. Rosa approaches Nate, whispering, "Good luck," and pecks his cheek before he goes out.

The audience cheers as Nate and Hugh lift their Pokeballs at the ready. "The Driftveil Tournament Single Battle will now begin! Nate and Hugh of Aspertia, come to the stage!"

The two walk from opposite corners to the stage. "You ready for this?"

"Of course," Hugh responds before tossing his Pokeball out. Oda and Ryoku come out before one another. "Oda, Aqua Jet!" Moving quickly, the water otter flies in and knocks the blue canine in the air. "Follow up with Razor Shell!"

Drawing his sword he comes down to slash his opponent. "Block with Counter!"

Ryoku releases a brown aura around him to reflect the attack, sending Oda crashing into the ground. The crowd cheers loudly at his actions, even as Ryoku lands and they face one another. "Water Pulse!"

Oda summons water into an orb and splashes the ground, creating a tidal wave. "Force Palm, and then charge in with Quick Attack!"

Moving fast Ryoku repels the water and charges in, sliding along the water for a tackle. "Fight back! Revenge!" Oda responds by hitting hard with a back fist.

"Force Palm!" The two Pokemon are now entering an exchange of blows, causing an uproar in the audience.

"So cool!" a child shouts.

Rosa takes in a deep breath as she watches. "Nate, you're being brutal. I can feel it inside of you two."

"So, you know of him?" She turns around and spots Colress reading off a clipboard. "I'd say you're an acquaintance, am I right?"

"Y-Yeah... Who are you?" she asks him.

"Colress. I've had the pleasure of meeting with your friend some time ago... He's quite interesting."

"Yeah, he is..." Rosa's cheeks go a pink tint thinking about him.

Oda and Ryoku fall backwards from their last strike. "Oda, finish him off with Razor Shell!"

"Ryoku, block!" The jackal Pokemon steps in and grabs his sword arm. A powerful aura begins to rise up from his body. "Huh?"

Nate checks the dex. "Dark Pulse; an aura empowered move that transfers dark thoughts into dark energy."

"Aura? Ryoku, Dark Pulse!" The aura turns black as Ryoku glares at Oda, before shooting twin black rays at Oda, sending him flying in the air. Oda rolls over the ground in pain, before fainting.

"Dewott is unable to battle; Lucario wins!" states the announcer as the crowd cheers for Nate's victory.

Hugh sighs as he returns his Pokemon. "Nate... You're become way too tough, but I'm only going to get stronger too."

"Hugh..." Nate watches as he leaves before following him.

"Still, your Pokemon looked like they were having fun." He gives a comfortable smile as they enter the waiting room.

"Nate, Hugh, you guys were so intense out there," Rosa tells them proudly.

"Yeah! Like I said, I won't fall behind you guys." The gray protagonist gives her a hug and lifts the girl in his arms.

Their friend pauses and asks, "Are you guys a couple?"

"Yup!" She hugs her arm around Nate's, her soft breasts mushed against the elbow. He looks to the side so she wouldn't see his totally red face.

"Well, there's a situation about that really..." he mumbles with a look of distress.

"The next battle shall begin; Cheren of the Aspertia Gym and Rosa of Aspertia, come down!" Rosa lifts her head and walks off.

"Wish me luck!" she says to Nate before blowing a kiss.

"Good luck!" he responds, and off they go. Hugh stares at him before walking to the seats.

Cheren and Rosa hop up on stage. The crowd cheers for their battle. The gym leader pushes his glasses up to his face before saying, "I'm as thrilled as I can be to battle the first challenger of my gym."

"I'm glad to be here again. I've been working hard these past few weeks." Rosa takes out her Pokeball and throws it, summoning an argentavis Pokemon. "Let's go, Mandibuzz."

"Eh?! Where'd she get that?!" Nate shouts in shock. He takes out his Pokedex and scans it.

"Mandibuzz, the Bone Vulture Pokemon; Watching from the sky, they swoop to strike weakened Pokémon on the ground. They decorate themselves with bones."

"I'm sure you've made some impressive progress. I'll be here to see how much." Cheren sends out Stoutland.

Nate aims his dex at the dog. "Stoutland, the Big-Hearted Pokemon; Being wrapped in its long fur is so comfortable that a person would be fine even overnight on a wintry mountain."

"Bone Rush!" Mandibuzz comes down from flight and strikes using a wing covered in bones. Stoutland yelps in pain before rolling back onto his feet.

"Prepare Take Down when it comes back," Cheren advises as the dog glares at the vulture. She comes in flying to complete a follow up, and the Big-Hearted Pokemon leaps up for a tackle.

"Tailwind!" As she flies, Mandibuzz releases a strong wind current that increases her speed. This allows her to dodge the Take Down. "Now, Faint Attack!"

The vulture goes into a divebomb and strikes with the left wing, knocking him down again. "Once more!"

"Thunder Fang!" Mandibuzz comes around for a follow up, but Stoutland lunges at the vulture and chomps on the wing. Electricity courses through her body.

"An electric move?" Rosa cups her chin as the vulture hits the ground. She clearly doesn't remember that happening.

"That looked like it hurt. Why is Mandibuzz in pain?" Nate questions with his chin up.

"Electric moves are strong against Flying types," Hugh tells him.

Mandibuzz forces herself to stand and glares at Stoutland. "Take Down!"

As the dog approaches, Mandibuzz leaps up to avoid, moving at a much faster speed. "Eh?"

"Weak Armor is taken effect; Mandibuzz, Fury Attack!" The vulture flies down at the dog and rapidly pecks him. "Finish it up with Faint Attack!"

With a jab to the ribs Stoutland falls forward and faints. "Stoutland is unable to battle; Mandibuzz wins!"

"Yes!" Rosa shouts before leaping up and retrieving her Pokemon.

"Well, you've indeed changed." Cheren returns his Pokemon and smiles.

With that battle over the other matches go underway. The Heart-Breaker Larry and Colress move on to the next match.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll continue with our match ups tomorrow morning. Thank you and goodnight!" says the announcer before every begins to disperse.

Rosa turns to Nate and Hugh, hooking her arms around theirs. "Ready to take a night of the town before tomorrow?"

"Might as well. I've got nothing to plan for," Hugh says before all three friends head off.

"Alright! Let's get some steak!" Nate shouts before running off, pulling his buds along. As he does he gets a ring from the old Xtransceiver, obviously from Yancy. "Oh. Hold on, I gotta take this."

He moves away from the others to chat privately with his female friend. Rosa eyes his suspiciously. "What was that about?"

The Next Morning...

"Welcome back to the Driftveil City Tournament!" says the announcer as he waves his Elvis hair. The crowd cheers as in the waiting room Nate, Colress, Rosa and Larry await being called. "We will now continue with the Semi-finals! The first match will be Nate vs. Rosa, both friends and trainers from Aspertia City!"

The couple head up to the stand on opposite ends, the girl saying, "Ready for this?"

"Of course!" He raises his Pokeball and sends it out. "I'll show you the results of my special training!"

They each send out their Pokemon: Rosa's is Arcanine while Nate's is Hayato. Although she's seen Hayato before, the Arcanine takes him by surprise. "Huh? When did Growlithe evolve?"

"I go a Fire stone from sensei," she responds. "Windy is swifter than a bike."

"Let's see how much. Hayato, Aerial Ace!" The eagle scoffs before flapping his wings, taking flight. He then flies down at Arcanine.

"Windy, use Bite!" Just as the eagle comes in, Windy dodges and chomps on his neck before tossing him in the air. "Now, Flame Burst!"

Windy fires a ball of flames. "Dive and swoop in for Aerial Ace!"

Hayato flaps his wings and corrects himself, before diving to avoid the fireball and striking Windy in his face. As this happens, Nate scans the fire type. "Arcanine, the Legendary Pokemon; this regal Chinese Pokemon is adored by many. Many are enchanted by its magnificent mane."

"Then it's a fire type still... Should have sent Keldeo... Hayato, try to sneak in and dive from the skies with Slash!" Without thinking of Nate's command, Hayato flies in and uses Wing Attack.

"Flame Burst!" Windy fires, sending Hayato back a ways. "Once more!"

"Hayato, we're not gonna get anywhere if you keep ignoring my commands! Fly away and take Windy from behind with Aerial Ace!" Taking a minute to scowl at Nate, Hayato dodges the fireball and flies high up for Aerial Ace. It pulls off a successful blow.

"Not bad. Windy, Extreme Speed!" Moving faster than a speeding bullet, Windy lunges at Hayato and strikes him hard. The force of the blow sends the eagle crashing into the ground.

"Hayato!" Nate reaches out for his fallen Pokemon. 'Is this really the difference in level between us?'

"Finish it with Flame Burst!" Windy fires, blasting Hayato and leaving him unconscious.

"Braviary is unable to battle. Arcanine wins." As the ref calls it in, Nate hastily retrieves his Pokemon.

The crowd cheers for the results, even as Rosa approaches Nate with a smile. "Don't feel bad. You were close."

He sighs and looks away. "I guess. I just don't get it; I've been getting stronger, so why aren't I at your level?"

"Nate, just because you're working hard doesn't mean we aren't as well. Even now, Hugh is trying to become stronger than you. You just don't know how much progress you're making because I'm just that good." With a wink and a kiss to the cheek Rosa walks off with him into the waiting area.

Colress, having watched the match, eyes the couple with intrigue. "Those two are interesting..."

As the next battle begins, Colress enters the stage while putting away his iPad clipboard. Larry rushes onto stage with a grin of confidence. "I'll make this quick!"

"Yes, you will," Colress tells him before adjusting his glasses. The light reflecting off of them finally reveals his eyes.

Nate and Rosa look in shock at the quick conclusion of the battle; Larry the Heartbreaker had no chance against Colress' Metang.

The scientist returns over to the waiting room. "Now for my battle against you, miss Rosa."

"I will await it." Rosa tightens her fists with confidence.

Soon the next match is called, and the two enter the stage. Everyone cheers for their respective trainer. "Let the final round begin! Rosa vs. Colress!"

"As a researcher, it is the truth and the ideal way things should be that I seek," says the scientist as he adjusts his glasses. "I choose Klang."

An assortment of mechanical gears appears before Colress. "Then, I send out Electabuzz!"

Rosa's Pokemon is the humanoid fusebox Electabuzz. "Electabuzz, Thunderbolt!"

Stuttering, Electabuzz releases lightning upon Klang and shocks him. "Klang, Discharge!"

Klang releases an electromagnetic discharge that repels Thunderbolt and shocks Electabuzz. "Now, Autotomize!"

What looks to be a metal shell cracks off of its body, and it moves across the stage at a quick pace. "What?"

"Autotomize increases Klang's speed by having it shed its shell and become lighter. Gear Grind!" Klang then comes apart and tear into Electabuzz by grinding together on him.

"Thunder Punch!" Electricity sparks around his left fist as Electabuzz swings a jab.

"Dodge!" The metal Pokemon remove itself and combine together. "Discharge!"

Klang's electromagnetic pulse strikes Electabuzz, who stumbles onto his back. Tense, she closes her eyes. "Electabuzz isn't doing so well."

"That guy's stronger than I thought he'd be. Already he's pushing Rosa back..." Nate turns tense while watching the battle. He turns to Hugh and asks, "What can she do?"

"Klang is faster now thanks to Autotomize, and Discharge will repel any electric attacks coming his way. But, I bet she already has a plan," Hugh replies while the battle.

"Mirror Shot!" Metal pieces fly out to strike Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz, Light Screen!" A barrier forms over him, blocking the special attacks.

"Then, Gear Grind!" Klang comes apart and grinds against the electic type, causing him to stumble. "It doesn't matter what you do; Klang is way to fast to-" Before he could finish electricity sparks about the gears, causing it to land. "What?"

"Electro-Ball!" Electabuzz forms a ball of static electricity, firing it Hadoken style at Klang, causing an explosion.

"What happened? Klang should have dodged that..." Nate mutters in shock.

"It's Electabuzz's ability; Static. Having physical contact with him will run the risk of being paralyzed," Hugh tells him.

"Ability? Wait, they have that too?"

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" Charging both of his fists Electabuzz races at Klang and pounds him with a double punch. The attack is so strong it sends it crashing into the ground until fainting.

"Klang is unable to battle; Electabuzz wins. The winner of this tournament is Rosa of Aspertia." The crowd goes wild at the results as Rosa returns her Pokemon.

"You're rather perceptive. You knew your only chance to win was to use Static and slow down Klang. That way you can also take advantage of its new lightness for a powerful blow," Colress surmises while approaching her. He hands a hand out. "Well done; I've learned a bit from this match."

"I've as well." Rosa takes his hand and shakes.

Elsewhere in Unova Riley flies aboard his Pokemon Salamence. He sighs before his eyes go wide, as he looks back in the direction he left. "Wait, I remember that feeling... It's..."

Later...

Nate, Rosa and Hugh exit the Pokemon World Tournament building, the female of the group looking rather pleased with her victory. Clay stands before them with a look of satisfaction. "Thanks a mil' kids! Now we've got people signin' in from all over! With the best trainers across da globe comin', it'll raise up everybody's level of skill! And Driftveil'll grow even more an make heaps of money!"

"So that's what it comes down to..." Hugh mutters with disappointment.

Nate looks to the side and spots Colress. Splitting from the group to join him he calls out to him. "Colress, why did you decide to join?"

"By having battles with many trainers I can bring out a Pokemon's abilities, like you've seen in my match against your friend. Eventually, as I continue to battle, the truth of my theory will be evident to all," he explains before adjusting his glasses.

"Theory?"

"You will find out eventually..." He then walks off. "See you soon, Nate. I'm gonna grab a Casteliacone in Castelia."

"Uh huh..." He looks to the side at Rosa and Hugh who approach him. "So, where are you guys going?"

"I'm going to the Mistralton Cave. I caught a Pokemon there and I'm curious as to what else is around," Hugh says.

"I'll be heading to Mistralton too. Still have that badge to grab, and I gotta make sure Nate makes it there," Rosa tells them before hugging her boyfriend's arm. "Until then let's get some food at the Red Crawdaunt!"

"Yes!"

"You guys surprised me today..." Cheren speaks as he approaches the trio. "I barely recognized Nate and Hugh yesterday... You guys have changed a bit."

"We have, huh?" Hugh looks down at his hands. He's indeed become stronger, but has fallen behind Nate somehow. He raises his head to address him, only to pause when he sees someone in black running behind Nate and Rosa.

"Traveling with Pokemon makes everyone grow so much-"

"Plasma!" he shouts, racing forward to chase the guy down.

"Huh? Wait, Hugh!" Rosa releases Nate and chases her friend. Nate sighs and follows with haste.

"Wait, stop!" Colress calls while looking at him. "There's no need for you to get involved."

"Hugh wants to get back his Purrloin from Plasma and won't stop at anything to accomplish it," Nate tells him. "He has allot of courage."

"Wrong." Colress' blue hair blows in the breeze. "There's a fine difference between bravery and recklessness. Does he think anything is possible simply because he has Pokemon with him?"

The young trainer lowers his eyelids as he thinks. Before he could give an answer he rushes after his friends; even if he didn't have to leave to join his friends he would have been unable to answer the question. Running to the pier he follows them to a ship with black sails. He hops aboard and joins them. "Guys, what happened?"

"We don't know..." Hugh mutters.

"There's no one aboard?" Rosa adjusts her hat and looks around. "This ship though looks like a sailboat on the outside, but inside it's so hightech."

"That shouldn't matter to you." They look ahead at starboard and race forward. The three friends spot a female Plasma Grunt. "Nice of you to follow us here."

"What?!" As Nate begins to panic, Rosa stays calm while Hugh goes under a fit of rage.

"It was a trap," says the bun hair girl. All three look around in shock, noticing the Plasma members coming out of the shadows. They're completely surrounded. As if in response, Hugh sends out Oda, Rosa summons Windy and Nate goes with Takeru.

"I praise you kids for making it this far, and for finding our base... But, how do you plan to leave alive with so many of us?" says the female grunt who chuckles staring at them. Her Serviper beside her hisses. "Hurry up and surrender if you will."

Hugh narrows his red eyes with anger. "It doesn't matter... I'm going to rampage now."

Nate stands by Takeru with some worry. "There's allot of them... Can we really?"

"Nate, it's okay," Rosa tells him with reassurance. "The fact that they're coming at us in swarms means they're weak. We've all risen as Pokemon Trainers in a way so as numbers won't mean anything. It's all about quality, not quantity."

Nate then looks to his right to see Hugh patting his shoulder. "I wanna finish this fast, so I'll be relying on you guys. Lend me a hand?"

"Ah!" Nate says in agreement, before turning his eyes ahead.

"Don't think I'll let you off easy because you're young. I have no qualms against making sure brats like you vanish. Serviper, Bite!" The girl from before sends her Pokemon at Nate. By this, it leaps directly at him.

"Windy, you use bite as well!" On her orders, Arcanine leaps up and bites down on the snake's neck before tossing her up in the air.

"Oda, Ice Beam attack!" Dewott jumps high in the air and forms a ball of cyrokinetic energy. A beam of ice shoots out, trailing from the ship's floor to Serviper; a tower of ice is made in the process.

"Takeru, Nitro Charge!" For the finish, Takeru flares up and strikes the snake.

As Serviper falls unconscious, the woman stands with a look of anger. "Get 'em!"

"Ah!" They each send out a Pokemon.

"Vamola, Shao-Li!"

"I'm counting on you, Simisage!"

"Ryoku!" In order, Rosa sends out a Mienfoo, Hugh a Simisage and Nate Ryoku.

* * *

Takeshi: Thanks for reading. Now remember to review, by reading this story over as a reader and then a writer.

Manabu: Before we end below is a list of the Pokemon our three main characters own so far.

Nate's Pokemon: Pignite, Lucario, Braviary, Joltik, Keldeo, Eevee, Purrloin

Rosa's Pokemon: Servine, Electabuzz, Mienfoo, Arcanine, Mandibuzz

Hugh's Pokemon: Dewott, Simisage, Unfeazant, Aron


	7. Chapter 7

**The Gray Adventure Part 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"" Speech

'' Thoughts

... Time skip

_**Journal Entry 7: How to Charm an Idol**_

* * *

Riley lands within Undella Town. His eyes gaze upon the ice gathered in the background. After retrieving Salamence he enters the villa not too far from his location. "Cynthia?"

"Riley!" The blond beauty comes out to greet her husband; she has changed in the two years, giving her a motherly and warm appearance compared to the Monster Queen she used to be. "It's so good to have you back; Rio has been crying for her father."

"I don't know about that..." he responds with a sheepish smile. Cynthia hands over the baby in her arms to the blue guardian, who holds her softly. Rio coos softly in his arms. "Rio..."

"So how did it go? Did you find him?" she asks.

"No. I couldn't find any leads. Even worse, we can't leave because of the ice." Riley adjusts Rio as she struggles.

"Then, why did it take so long?"

"I found someone else, another Aura User who doesn't have any control. Just like Lucas, his is much stronger than mine. Maybe even his..." Riley thinks back to when he met Nate. "Funny thing though, he did know Hilbert."

A blue flare releases from Rio, which gathers their attention. Cynthia then asks, "Do you think she'll be okay? She may gain that charm power you have."

"Maybe... Girls have better control over it than boys; any boy who tries anything though will be beaten to a pulp!" His anger rises at the thought of boys hitting on his daughter. To that his wife laughs at him.

...

Ryoku throws a Bone Rush attack at a Trubbish. Shao-Li hits a Liepard with a Drain Punch. Simisage bombs a Krokorok with Seed Bomb. The combined assaults finishes off the last of the Grunts' Pokemon.

"Damn it! This brat's more irritating than the one two years ago!" one grunt mutters before he runs off.

Hugh grabs one violently and shoves him into the ground. "You! Are you the bastard who stole a Purrloin two years ago?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"We've lost, on the Plasma Frigate!"

"Hugh, stop it!" Nate pulls Hugh off of the grunt. "That's not gonna help any of us!"

"Although, there are some things I need to ask of them," says another voice as they all turn to the plank. There they spot Cheren climbing up. "Good work,"

"Cheren?" Nate mutters.

"It's about time you showed up!" Hugh complains.

"What on earth is going on here?" Another voice enters the scene in the form of an old man in purple garbs. His eyes go wide when he spots Cheren. "Oh god, it's you!"

"Eh? You're that old man who was shivering in the Cold Storage!" he states. "You were Zin-Zin Zolobin right?"

"Zinzolin!" replies the old man angrily.

"What are you planning to do on this ship?" Rosa asks of him. "What is your plan?"

"What else?! We will use the Legendary Dragon and control the world! We won't let curious young trainers get in our way again!" Zinzolin tells her. "Shadow Triad, get them!"

"We are not your servants," speaks a third voice.

Zinzolin sighs, shouting, "I don't care!"

Three ninja-like figures appear before the younger trainers, before they toss them overboard. Three Bisharps appear as well and kick their Pokemon off as well. Nate resurfaces first, looking up to shout, "What the hell?!"

Cheren gets tossed off as well. With them out of the way the ship leaves shore. Hugh growls in anger. "God damn it! Get back here, Team Plasma!"

Rosa and Nate swim to shore, pulling Hugh along with them, after they each retrieve their Pokemon. After taking a moment to dry their clothes Rosa asks, "Who were those guys?"

"The Shadow Triad; they're Ghetsis' personal bodyguards trained in ninjitsu. Their abilities are largely superhuman," Cheren explains. Hugh, ignoring them, runs off in a rush.

"They sound like trouble..."

"Dragon? What did they mean by that?" Nate asks, looking back at where the ship vanished.

"That's what worries mean..." Cheren cups his chin as he thinks. "They plan to use a Legendary Dragon Pokemon... But the only dragon Pokemon of legend in Unova are Reshiram and Zekrom."

She turns to him in surprise. "Then, will they try to use them?"

"No, they can't. Both dragons are taking residence inside of two trainers. Hilbert and Hilda have disappeared a year ago..." Cheren surmises. "Did they capture one of them, or is there something I don't know of?"

"Hilbert?" Nate raises his head at that response. "Hilbert is a dragon?"

"I'm going to Route 6 to look up some things. You guys take care," Cheren leaves out to the world.

"Bye Cheren," Nate says as he waves. Rosa does so as well, and they look at one another. "So, uh, where you going?"

"I'm heading for the Chargestone Cave and then Mistralton. The next badge is there for us, wanna join?" She takes his hand, and without another word together they go off.

After healing their Pokemon and resupplying their gear they head up to Route 6. Along the way Nate's Xtransceiver goes off. "Oh, hello? Yancy?"

"Give me that."

"Hey!" As Rosa takes the old thing away she answers the device for him.

"Hello? Who's this?" Yancy asks.

"I'd like to ask that too. Who are you?"

"Give that back!" Nate says, only for nothing to happen.

"I'm Rosa. Why are you calling Nate all the time?" she asks.

"That's none of your business! Nate and I are friends."

"Oh yeah, what does he looks like?" Silence is her only answer. "I figured as much; you don't know anything about him at all!"

"Who are you to judge me when we've never even met in person? Besides, aren't you the one who's hiding something from him?" Rosa's eyes widen in shock at her response. "Yeah, I know. Nate told me a bit about you, and that you've been acting weird around him. What kind of friend are you to make him think that?"

"Shut up! What do you know?! The way I see it Nate doesn't need to be with someone he doesn't know! Are you even a girl?!"

"Alright, that's it," Nate takes the Xtransceiver from her. "Rosa, Yancy, you two can't be fighting eachother if you're gonna be my friends. Yancy, you can't be say stuff like that to Rosa, and Rosa you can't talk down to my friends and make my decisions!"

"But Nate-"

"Yancy," His attention turns over to the Xtransceiver. "Is it okay if we met one day?"

On the other line Yancy pauses, before saying, "Sure, I'd love that. Is two days by the Rende-View Ferris Wheel okay? At 3 P.M.?"

"That's good. See ya," he says, and then she hangs up. Nate turns around and faces Rosa with a look of anger. "That was not cool."

"Nate, you can't be so trusting! You don't even know what she looks like!" Rosa reasons.

"I'll be fine; any danger I get into I can get out using my powers and Pokemon," he responds. "Why so clingy?"

"Do you really wanna be so chummy with other girls and get them to fall for you? You said yourself you'd be more responsible!"

"I am! I mean, I don't know if she likes me that way and if she does then what happens happens. I'll take full responsibility for it." Nate heads further up the route towards the cave.

While reluctant Rosa follows after him. '_I have to tell him..._'

Along the way Nate battles against several trainers, using that as practice for his upcoming Gym Battle, until the cave comes in sight. "I wonder who I can catch."

Nate looks to his right and notices a large cave. "Huh? Is that it?"

"No, that's Mistralton Cave. It's a dark cave filled with rare Pokemon," she says to him. Taking a moment to think he walks over to it, crossing the river by swimming. "Hey, wait!"

After reaching the other side they enter the cave. "There's nothing much in here Nate."

Without warning a Boldore appears before them from the darkness. Its forehead glows before it fires stones at them. "Look out!" Nate raises his arms and forms a barrier to block the Power Stone attack. Seeing it fail, Boldore comes in closer at them, before Rosa stands before the Pokemon, sending out Mienfoo. "Rosa, what are you doing?"

"Shao-Li, Jump Kick!" Her Pokemon leaps out and kicks the rock in the face, sending it crashing into the ground. "Great Ball, go!"

She tosses her ball, and captures the Pokemon. It rocks back and forth for a while before it stops moving. "Well, I caught a Boldore. It's not my style but I could use one later on."

"Well, if there's nothing else here I'm leaving," Nate says as Rosa leads the way out the hole. They then trod through the water to reach the cave on the other side.

As they move closer, Keldeo's ball shakes a bit before opening up. "Eh?"

"He's around... Sir Cobalion..." he says as he looks around.

"Who?" Nate would have his answer as a dark blue Pokemon lands before them from above a high up cliff. The Pokemon looks over at Keldeo, before turning to Nate, and then running away.

"Ah! Sir Cobalion!" Keldeo calls out.

"...That was Cobalion?" Nate asks. Rosa remains silent while listening.

"Yeah. He's the leader of the Sacred Swordsmen, as well as the one who taught me Sacred Sword," he responds with a grin. "I've wanted to meet up with him and show him how strong I've gotten. Why did he leave?"

"Cobalion... What a noble presence..." Turning around the three see Rood approaching them with an older gentleman.

"Hey, it's Rood."

"You know him?" asks Rosa as she eyes them curiously.

"There's an interesting story about them; Cobalion, Virizion and Terrakion are all Pokemon who fought against humans to protect their kind from the war they starte," begins the old man. "There is no place of peace for Pokemon whenever humans go to war. The three learned that the deeds of humans could lead to dire consequences... But why did it appear before you, a human, after all these years?"

"He's a special human at that," Rood mutters.

"It may be preparing for the threat Plasma is presenting, or is it a new problem..." As he speaks Nate retrieves his Pokemon Keldeo.

"Unforgivable..." Rood mumbles in an angry tone. "It seems Ghetsis' ambition and malice have grown so wide it reaches to Pokemon like them... I don't have the power to communicate with Pokemon like Lord N or yourself so I know nothing of what that Pokemon is thinking. But if you could befriend it it would be a great asset to you on your journey."

"Really..." Nate looks further down where the Pokemon left, but goes silent when he begins to think about it. His cousin Hilbert having a dragon inside of him, the Sacred Swordsmen preparing for something troubling, and at the center of it is Plasma; what's going on?

"Nate, let's move on. We'll find out the truth later," Rosa tells him before leading him forward. Coming up the platform to the cave entrance's level they walk inside with caution.

In the cave the duo look around in the blue lit area. Not two minutes after walking do they hear a shout. "Hey, Nate!"

His eyes perk up when he spots Bianca running up to them. A smile goes wide on his face as he says, "Hey, Bianca!"

"Nate, it's so good to see you again!" She reaches out and hugs him, giving the boy a nice, wet kiss. While taken by surprise he returns the kiss, but Rosa looks at them with intense jealousy. They part, and she kisses his cheek before saying, "I've actually missed you a bit."

"I'm glad to see you too," he tells her. "What brings you here?"

"I was going around doing some research. I was also interested in seeing the floating stones!" Bianca holds his arm and leads him towards a floating stone.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Rosa reaches in and pulls Nate free. "Don't get too close to Nate when you've only recently met him!"

"Eh? But Rosa, I really do like him," she responds, taking his hand and placing it around her waist. "Allot more than you think."

"I don't care! I like Nate too, and how do I know if you deserve to be with him?!" Rosa pulls Nate away to argue with Bianca. "He doesn't need someone who will run out on him the moment he finds out about his secrets!"

"Secrets?" She looks over at Nate.

"It's none of your-"

"I'm an Aura User," he responds, cutting Rosa off. The girls turn to Nate in shock, Rosa because she can't believe he would want to let her know and Bianca for obvious reasons. "Apparently I have super powers, but I also have a bit of a curse in attracting any girl who may gain feelings for me. I think you're attracted to it too."

Bianca remains silent as she takes this in. "Wow... You have that kind of trouble on your shoulders..."

"I was hoping to tell you soon so I can let you make an informed decision if you want to be around me, because that would definitely happen. But I'll understand if-" He wouldn't be able to finish as she reaches out to kiss him on the lips. After parting he just stares with a blank and confused expression, Rosa forcing herself quiet. "Eh?"

Bianca gives a smile. "I don't care about that; I know of someone who was an Aura User, and he was able to make things work for him. Plus, Hilbert is married to two women and he's still a normal person."

"You do?"

"He is!?" Nate's surprised at finding out about Hilbert being with two women.

"Besides, if I'm attracted to you then it won't matter if I leave or not. If I fall in love with you, I'll accept it." She then wraps her arms around him.

"Bianca... Wow, you're taking this better than I thought..." Nate smiles as he hugs her back.

Meanwhile Rosa remains shocked watching the scene. "Huh?! You're okay with this?!"

"Eh?" They turn to look at her.

"Nate, how can you be so accepting of a girl you just met? She could just be using you!"

"Rosa, why are you so upset over me sharing? You were okay with it before."

"But that's before so many of these girls started to show up! Even if they say they can accept your curse how can you be okay with it?! You'll have to live the rest of your life keeping your emotions in check so you don't attract any unwanted attention, and even when you're with those you're with they'll constantly think of this love as a lie! They'll never accept fully accept you; only someone like me can!"

Nate and Bianca stare at Rosa as she declares her words of desperation. Looking at her he's beginning to think she's hiding some deep seeded resentment or anger. It's as if she has some connection to his power. And a curse? "Rosa, is there something you want to tell me?"

"There is nothing!" she quickly responds. Realizing the situation she clenches her teeth shut and heads further into the cave. "Forget it; if you're gonna make your own mistakes I won't stop you."

"Rosa..." Nate continues to watch her from behind, before following.

"She's hiding some pain... Nate, you should-ah!" Bianca trips over her feet on top of him.

'_What the hell's my problem? I almost spilled my secret, even though I'm suppose to be okay with it... Everyone's clinging to Nate and being so close, and all I've been doing is getting angrier. Sensei's been telling me to control my emotions too._' Rosa slows down as she thinks further on. '_I can't be like this. I was good with it earlier, so I will now._'

They continue to move forward into the cave, Bianca showing him how to push the floating stones to progress. As they do a tiny Pokemon crawls up his leg. They continue before coming to a wooden bridge, that Bianca comments being new since the last one was blown up, and as they cross over Nate notices someone up ahead.

"Chargestone Cave. I like this place; Formulas express the forces behind electricity, its connection to Pokemon, and humans and Pokemon themselves."

"Who's that?" asks Rosa before she rushes forward to catch the guy.

"Hey, wait up," calls out Nate as he and Bianca follow.

"This is my ideal place," says the man. "I have to go in order to save Pokemon and protect the very friends I have made."

They reach the other side of the bridge, and spot no one in sight. Rosa looks after, checking the floor for footprints. Nate meanwhile checks around the rocks. "Nate, Bianca, he went down these steps."

"Let's go-Ah!" Nate looks down at his leg after feeling a stinging sensation. There he spots a Joltik. "What's this?"

"Ah, a Joltik!" Bianca says looking down at the Pokemon. "What a cute little guy!"

Rosa takes out her dex. "Joltik, the Attaching Pokemon; They attach themselves to large-bodied Pokémon and absorb static electricity, which they store in an electric pouch. Joltik that live in cities have learned a technique for sucking electricity from the outlets in houses."

"Alright, I'm gonna catch this guy then!" Nate takes out a Great Ball and tosses it at the little bug, who jumps away. "Hey, get back!"

He sends out Takeru, "Ember!" Shooting a fireball Takeru manages to blast Joltik into the ground. "Now, Nitro Charge!"

With flames surrounding his body he charges and tackles the tiny insect into the ground. Nate then throws his ball and captures it, the Pokemon shaking a bit inside. It continues like this until it finally stops, and the boy walks over to grab it. "And now I have another addition to my team."

"It looks so cute too," Rosa claims looking at the Great Ball.

"So Bianca, what were you researching here?" Nate asks as they continue on their ways.

"A Pokemon named Tynamo. There aren't that many around," she responds as she looks around. "But you guys should worry about your next big match against Skyla of Mistralton; she's really gotten good ever since she went back."

"Went back? From what?"

"I'll be staying here for a bit longer. Good luck Nate, my darling." She sings the last two words into his ears before kissing him tongue deep in his mouth. While appalled, Rosa remains still as she finishes, leaving Nate to stare with a large blush on his face.

With her done bun hair walks over to her boyfriend and pulls on his ear. "Let's go!"

"Ah, let go!" They continue through the cave until they spot a girl with a Boldore. Her blue pigtails blow from the breeze coming out the exit.

She notices the two of them and says, "Hey, trainers!"

"Eh?" He points to himself.

"Yeah, you! Let's battle!"

Nate and Rosa look at eachother and then this rude and aggressive girl. "Fine. Go, Takeru!"

Sending out Pignite again Boldore approaches the Pokemon. "Nitro Charge!"

"Smack Down!" Boldore counters by shooting its forehead at Takeru, knocking him aside. "Now, Rock Slide!"

Boldore pounds on the side of a wall, causing boulders to collide down upon Takeru. "Arm Thrust each one!"

Takeru pumps his muscles and pushes them aside in rapid motions. "Now, Heat Crash!"

He then leaps up and slams his body down upon Boldore, but even the intense heat added fails to do major damage. "Damn it!"

"Boldore, Power Gem!" The gem on its forehead fires at Takeru, causing him a bit of pain. "How's that? Pretty good for a girl right?!"

"What's with that cocky tone?" Rosa mumbles.

"Takeru, you can still win! Stand!" Nate shouts, hoping that his partner can still fight. His desire becomes real as Takeru stands. "Alright, now let's show her how strong you really are!"

Takeru growls as flames surround his body, transforming his shape. The pig becomes a large Chinese looking Pokemon with yellow and black patterns over his body. As the flames die out and becomes his beard Takeru becomes Emboar.

"Whoa..." Nate takes out his Pokedex in shock before scanning Emboar. "Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon; It has mastered fast and powerful fighting moves, including igniting its fists with the flames burning as its beard for a fiery punch."

"His Pokemon finally reached the last stage, just like Serpentera," Rosa says in amazement.

"So it evolved, big deal! Boldore, Smack Down!" Boldore fires at the giant boar.

"Let's try this attack; Arm Thrust!" Takeru pushes back against the rock and sends it flying into Boldore's face. The action itself amazes Nate. "Well alright! Takeru, use Heat Crash!"

The boar leaps in the air and lands with a hard, fiery crash upon Boldore despite its stone hide. "Now, Arm Hammer!"

He then moves in close for a lariat, sending the rock type into a wall fainting. Rosa then cheers, "Alright, Nate and Takeru!"

"Way to go, man!" Nate says in happiness to his Pokemon, who bellows proudly.

"No, Boldore!" she shouts, before retrieving her Pokemon and running off. Rosa watches as she leaves, wondering what was her problem.

The couple then look to one another, taking a moment to enjoy his victory, before she says, "Let's get going."

"Ah." Together they wander towards the exit, glad to have finally left the Chargestone Cave. On the other side they see the skies have gone dark as an airplane takes off from an airport; this is Mistralton City.

Rosa cups her chin thinking out loud, "Huh... It must be night time... We were there that long?"

Nate takes a moment to check out the airport visually, before spotting a pretty older woman with auburn brown hair and green eyes. He remains stunned looking at her, as if he remembers her, and Rosa stares at him angrily thinking he's checking her boobs out.

"Ah, Nate!" she says, approaching the couple. "It's nice to finally be able to talk to you in person instead of through Bianca."

"Eh? Wait..." It then begins to click in his mind, putting two and two together. "You're-"

"Yup! I'm Professor Juniper. I'm surprised you managed to come all the way out here with your partners," she says with a grin. "Anyway, how's your progress in the dex coming?"

"Uh? Oh." Nate takes out his Pokedex. Realizing what this is about Rosa does the same.

"Alright, let's see... Rosa, you have seen 95 Pokemon, while Nate here has seen over 100."

"Eh?!" Rosa stares at Nate in shock, unable to believe he beat her at something.

"Well good job you two! Here's a gift Nate." Juniper hands him a dark purple and pink ball. "This is the Master Ball; it's made of a strong metal and is capable of capturing any Pokemon without fail."

"Wow, really?!" He stares at the ball with amazement.

"It's also really hard to make; they're exclusive only to professors and researchers like myself," she responds with her finger raised and a smile on her face. "Journeys are about meeting new friends and Pokemon; don't let a chance get away the moment you see something you like, but always be courteous to your surroundings and the feelings of others; that said my research seems to be growing still after all these years, so I'm probably gonna be having this kind of fun for a while."

"Isn't it kind of boring just being a professor though?" asks Nate curiously.

She laughs straight in his face. "Nope! It's still incredibly fun!"

"Professor!" Another voice calls out for the professor. This time an even more stunning girl in a blue two-piece outfit with red hair and a propeller on her head to wrap up some in a pony tail appears. She has this amazingly beautiful adult appeal to her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Not as of yet. I still have some time. Infact, I was planning to visit the Celestial Tower," Juniper tells her before walking off. "I'll be back, Skyla!"

Skyla watches as she leaves, facepalming herself while sighing. "That woman is such a scatterbrain... The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Skyla, right?" Nate says to her, gaining the woman's attention. She stares at Nate and his weird hairstyle before nodding. "I'm Nate Hakumei of Aspertia. I was hoping-"

"Hakumei?!" Skyla grabs him by his collar. Rosa grits her teeth in anger at the sudden closeness. "As in you're the one Elesa told me about Nate Hakumei?"

"Uh, yeah. You're married to Hilbert right?"

"Yes. Have you seen him?" She stares at him with a bit of hope, only to become disappointed when he shakes his head for no. She releases him and sighs depressed, and through her actions Nate could see she's really worried about his cousin. "I'm sorry for bothering you. Me and Elesa can't go out and find him ourselves because of our duties... Even though he promised he would be careful he's still gone... That idiot..."

She holds her eyes as she tries to conceal her tears, bringing a pain expression to Rosa and Nate. He approaches her and pats the woman on the back in an attempt to cheer her up. "It's okay. I haven't given up yet, so you don't either."

Skyla turns to Nate, tears still in her eyes, and says, "Thank you." After taking a moment to calm herself she asks, "What brings you here? Gym battle?"

"I'd like to battle for the next badge, yeah. I've been fixated for the next badge!" he tells her.

"Good! I'll wait for you, but in three days I'll be leaving..." She heads over to the airport where her gym lies.

Rosa stands next to him with narrowed eyes. "Nate, how do you plan to face her?"

"How I've done it before! I've faced plenty of Pokemon types; I've be fine against hers, no matter what it is," he responds before raising his Great Ball. "First off, I'm going to train Joltik here. See ya."

"Ah, wait!" Rosa sighs as he runs off into the night. She heads over to the Pokemon Center, before worrying over him.

The Next Day...

Nate opens his eyes as he awakens, the crack of dawn hitting him in the face. He turns around to see Rosa sleeping on the other bed. Gazing upon her he smiles, glad that despite being so jealous and angry at the things he did before she still has intense care for him.

Although as he thinks about it, she really did flip yesterday. And to think it was all because she saw him getting close to two girls. Not to mention she's been acting a little weird around him in regards against it. There was the time he could have sworn she said 'my fault' as if in regard to his power, and that this was a curse. Does she have some resentment to him for attracting her, or does she knew about aura beforehand and is hiding that from him?

"But, I can't worry about that now. I have a promise to keep." Nate rises out of bed and throws on his shoes before shaking Rosa awake. "Rosa, wake up. I'm going to Nimbasa."

"Huh? Wha... Nimbasa?" Rosa's mind begins to return to her as she fully awakens, and remembers Yancy. "You're going to see her, aren't you?"

"She wants to be my friend. No matterwhat she says I'll accept it," he tells her. "That's the grown up way to handle things... I think."

"Nate... Fine. Go make the biggest mistake in your life!" Rosa turns around with a scowl as he grabs his belt.

He sighs before strapping the belt on and heading out the room. Rosa stares at the bed, depressed at his decision. '_Nate, aren't I good enough for you? Are you really going to accept this curse and the pain it brings?_'

Nate adjusts his backpack as he heads for the Chargestone Cave. "I have a day to get to Nimbasa and then another day to return to Mistralton..."

With a deep breath he dashes into the cave.

...

Hilbert opens his eyes and looks around. He could see that he's inside some form of glass dome containment unit. Otherwise he can't really tell where he is. "What is this?"

"Good morning Zekrom," speaks the familiar voice of Kyurem. The place is dark so he can't really see. "Welcome to your new, temporary home."

"What are you talking about?" Hilbert looks around, before noticing a gas filling his containment dome. It spreads all around him, seeping into his pores, nose and mouth and causing him to go tipsy. "What... What is this..."

"Just something to help you sleep; stay there forever." Hilbert collapses to the ground.

As he falls unconscious the lights go on, revealing Hilbert and his entrapment are inside of an enclosed room. Kyurem turns around to face a screen with Plasma's symbol on it. "How is he?"

"He's ready, but I can't eat him," the dragon explains to the voice. "Something inside of me causes him to be regurgitated. Something else is missing from me..."

"Then, we'll need to research more into that." The voice then fades as the screen turns off.

Kyurem looks down upon Hilbert. "For a stupid pacifist like you this is more than what you get, because I want to be alive in the world. Having your friend isn't enough anymore; I need Zekrom and Reshiram, and you twins along with them. I will feel that satisfaction and sense of life no matter what!"

...

After leaving the Chargestone Cave he manages to reach Route 6 and cross halfway. Nate looks up and notes clouds gathering, and begins to realize it's going to rain. "Better hurry."

He moves faster to get to Driftveil before it could start raining, hearing thunder roaring in the background. He comes up to the entrance to Driftveil, his stomach growling. "Argh... I didn't eat breakfast and now it's lunch..."

After battling a few other trainers, increasing Takeru, Ryoku, Hayato and Joltik's power, he enters the city and goes straight to the center, walking by a tree with a post that has a pretty idol on it. He manages to make it inside and rest for food. As he and his Pokemon eat however he begins to think about Yancy. "I wonder how she's like... Maybe she has big boobs..."His thoughts quickly drift to perverted ones before he slaps his face. "No, don't think that! You don't even know her that well."

He makes his move around and hour later and heads towards Nimbasa, using his bike to hurry along the bridge. He eventually comes to the end and upon reaching Nimbasa he notes it's starting to get darker. "Wow... It took that long... But I'm on time..."

He heads inside of the Pokemon center and rests for the night, thinking about Yancy and how Rosa will respond to her in the off chance she falls in love with him. Should such an event happen he is fully prepared to work on it.

Once morning shines he awakens and goes straight for the Ferris Wheel where he promised to meet Yancy. Along the way he notes the puddles of water from the rain yesterday despite it being sunny now. But as he nears it he begins to wonder how he'll find Yancy. "I don't know what she looks like..."

He asks around, questioning people if they were Yancy and sometimes getting punched whenever he would ask a guy. This would continue until he reaches the Ferris Wheel, and spots a girl in a white blouse with a short blue skirt and pink hair.

"... Worth a shot." He walks closer to her, and begins with, "Hello? Are you-"

"Eh?!" She turns around suddenly and backs away, shaking her arms. "No! I'm not who you think I am! I'm just a normal girl, not an idol!"

"Eh? No, I was just asking if-"

"Wait, I know that voice." She blushes a bit before moving in closer. "You're Nate?"

"Yup. I guess you're Yancy," he responds.

Feeling a little embarrassed she scratches over her hat. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else. Well, uh...It's nice to meet you. I'm Yancy! You were different than I imagined, so I was a little surprised. Ah ha ha..."

"It's alright. You're not what I expected either; I was actually thinking you would be a guy like Rosa said," he tells her, causing the girl to flinch.

"Rosa? You mean that rude girl who yelled at me?" she asks, and he responds with a nod. "Why was she so clingy jealous girl to you? Are you dating?"

"Well, there's a reason for that. You see..." Yancy places a finger to his lips.

"Before that, let's enjoy this Ferris Wheel." She takes his hand and guides him over to the seat, obviously enjoying his company. The two then ride up the Ferris Wheel, but as they do Nate tries his best to keep a distance from her; this action she could clearly tell he was aiming for.

As the ride ends and they exit Nate looks over to Yancy, believing she would question him on what he did. "Yancy, as I said before there's a reason for-"

"You're in love with her, that Rosa girl," she says, interrupting him. She gives him a smile even though he could see she's taking it hard. "It's okay. I was just trying to make a friend."

"No, no, it's not that! It's just... I have a complicated problem."

"You're a two-timer?"

"No!" He quickly shouts this, causing her to flinch. "I'm cursed apparently with a trait that you probably don't want."

"Eh?" she mutters. "Curse?"

"Rosa called it a curse, but with the way she acted it might be. You see..."

"It's him!" A Plasma grunt from afar points at Nate, gesturing two other grunts to join him. "The brat who attacked us at the Frigate!"

"Plasma?" Nate grabs Yancy and pushes her aside just before one grunt takes out a grenade launcher and fires at them. He then forms an aura barrier and blocks it, but the resulting shockwave sends him flying into Yancy.

"Nate! Are you okay?" she asks out of concern despite being unable to hold him up. The explosion causes the bystanders to run away out of fear.

"I'm sorry. This is another one of my problems, Plasma," he explains to her.

"But, that barrier! How did you..." She stops when she sees a Zangoose rushing towards them.

"I'll stop them." Now confident, he unintentionally flares his aura as he takes out Ryoku's ball. But Yancy grabs him and pulls the guy back, just before he could, both of them narrowly escaping Zangoose's claws. "Yancy, what are you..."

"Metagross!" Yancy sends out her Pokemon, the Steel/Psychic Metagross.

"Eh?" Nate holds out his Pokedex to scan it. "Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokemon; With four linked brains, it's more intelligent than a supercomputer, and it uses calculations to analyze foes. It's created by two Metang combining."

"Zangoose, Crush Claw!"

"Meteor Mash!" Metagross flies in and pounds Zangoose into the dirt with a powerful punch.

"Damn! He's got friends," says the same grunt as he returns his Pokemon. Before the others could send out theirs the sounds of sirens go off. "Officer Jenny... This isn't over child! Your life has been marked!"

They run off in a scurry.

"We better go. I don't need this kind of publicity if my secret gets out. Metagross, Magnet Rise!" Yancy boards her Metagross with Nate and as it uses Magnet Rise it gains the ability to fly. As the police converge onto the scene Metagross lands in Route 5.

As Yancy and Nate dismount it she retrieves her Pokemon, turning to Nate with perplexity. After an awkward silence she asks, "Is that what you meant?"

"Yeah." Nate looks down at his hand. "I'm not sure if this is a blessing disguised as a curse or the other way around, but this power is a part of me. It gives me the power to fight and create attacks, but it also attracts girls to me. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but whenever a girl is near me and my aura flares they start to gain strong feelings for me in addition to any they might have had before."

Yancy's eyes go wide when she realizes the implications of what he meant. "So that's the problem. Nate, I had no idea..."

"You grabbed onto me while I was using it, and there's a chance you may be forced to like me now. I don't blame you if you hate me now," he tells her, sadness dripping with each word. "Yancy, I-"

He wouldn't have time to respond as Yancy grabs his shirt and plants a strong kiss on his lips. While shocked at first he returns it, and they soon part. With a huge blush and a smile she says, "Nate, I' m okay with it. You said yourself that I would be attracted by your aura if I already was falling for you; the truth is, with all the conversations we had on the Xtransceiver I'd already fallen for you in a way."

"R-Really?"

"Someone as honest as you to have kept your distance and tried to keep that power away from me before knowing how I'd feel, that's perfect boyfriend material. I can probably live with this power, and any girl you draw in." Yancy gives Nate a hug before squeezing. "But first, let's try to start as friends and know eachother more."

"Agreed." Nate gives a sigh of relief before he hugs her. "I'm so glad you're taking this so well. Rosa was so upset with the thought of sharing me."

"I don't think that's it." Releasing him she looks up at the confused boy. "It'd be stupid of me to say that a real girlfriend wouldn't get jealous, because if you didn't have this problem I'd be jealous of the time you spent with Rosa. But from the way she calls it a curse it sounds like she's had prior experience. She sounds like someone who doesn't want you to feel pain..."

"Someone who doesn't want me to feel pain?" Nate looks towards the direction of Mistralton. "Rosa... Now that I think about it we've been childhood friends with Hugh until she went to live with relatives for two years, right after the accident."

"Accident?" she asks curiously, sounding a little worried if it may involve him.

"Yeah, it was a car crash... Did something happen to her in that time?"

* * *

Yusei: We apologize if this feels rushed, but this is a very important part of the story for later on.

Julia: Next time, Nate goes to the Mistralton Gym and takes on Skyla.

Nate's Pokemon: Pignite, Lucario, Braviary, Joltik, Keldeo, Eevee, Purrloin

Rosa's Pokemon: Servine, Electabuzz, Mienfoo, Arcanine, Mandibuzz, Boldore

Hugh's Pokemon: Dewott, Simisage, Unfeazant, Aron


End file.
